Sirens Gold
by Salamandersaurus Rex
Summary: AU. Here there be pirates! When Trina accidentally gets herself kidnapped by Ryder "Eye-Patch" Daniels, the whole gang (somewhat reluctantly) sets off on a crazy adventure to find the Sirens Gold and get her back. Eventual Jori, Cabbie, Brina.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Admiral and The Captain.

The name of the tavern was The Captains Sea Boot. It was a nondescript, rather dingy looking place, squatting like a half-awake toad under a stone at the edge of the ship yard, tucked away between the apothecary and the shiny new chandlers shop.

Compared to the fronts of the shops either side of it, it was rather dilapidated. A faded sign in sore need of a lick of paint swung creakily back and forth over the slightly rotting door frame, itself housing a surprisingly sturdy looking bleached wooden door. It was far smaller and older than its neighbours, always hidden in semi-darkness, no matter the position of the sun. This was probably the reason it was so often overlooked by the towns more wealthier folk, but it drew all the low-life's, the scum-bags, all the shady bane's of polite society like a moth to a flame. The Captains Sea Boot very much reflected its regulars.

Upon entering the little tavern, one would be a tad underwhelmed. The interior was dimly lit, with very little sunlight able to penetrate the thick layer of grime coating the tiny windows. A few lanterns clinging to the walls cast a little light on the surroundings, but the near constant haze of pipe smoke effectively reduced this to just a faint red glow. The uneven floor was comprised of little more than trampled dirt and sawdust, with the occasional comatose sailor for the unwary to stumble over.

Overall, it wasn't quite the sort of place Admiral Beckett Oliver expected to be sitting, nursing a tankard of very questionable ale, on such a sunny Saturday afternoon. Of course, there was no way he was there of his own accord. The Admiral was currently meant to be sipping tea from delicate china cups at one of Governor Vaughns' delightful tea parties, perhaps engaging in amiable small talk with the towns upper class citizens, in particular, with the Governors' eldest daughter, Alyssa.

He had of course given the Governor, along with his most sincere apologies, his reason.

Unfortunately, his reason was late. Again.

Beckett sighed and gazed at his beer, so lost in his thoughts that he failed to hear the tavern door creak slowly open, or the click, clicking heels of black leather sea boots, the silver buckles of which jangled faintly in time with the footsteps of their owner, who made their way purposefully towards the shadowy corner near the bar where the Admiral was sitting.

He was jerked from his thoughts by the sudden, tangible change in atmosphere. The quiet chatter that had filled the bar up until a moment ago suddenly ceased. Beckett looked up to see patrons shrinking back in their seats, clutching their tankards of ale, and trying to avoid catching the eye of the owner of the jangly boots.

Captain Jadelyn West was dressed predominantly in black. Knee high worn leather sea boots, adorned with little silver buckles. Long, shapely legs encased in tight black leggings. Slung around her hips was a bright scarlet sash, thrust carelessly into which were numerous, rather deadly looking weapons, most notably two shiny looking flint-lock pistols. Her top half was encased in a baggy sleeved white shirt, atop which she wore a smart, black waistcoat, and finally, draped across both shoulders, a calf length black greatcoat. To top off the (rather outrageous, in Becketts' opinion) ensemble, she wore a large, floppy hat, crammed carelessly on top of long black curls, completed by a very big green feather.

The faint jangling came to an abrupt stop as the captain halted in front of Becketts' table.

"Admiral."

"Captain."

Jadelyn glanced around the bar, glaring at the other patrons.

"Well? Carry on with your ale. Don't let me stop you enjoying yourselves." She sneered.

The rest of the taverns inhabitants hurriedly looked away from the Captain and the Admiral, and, after removing her hat, Jadelyn sat down opposite Beckett.

Beckett was the first to break the awkward silence.

"You're late."

"I know."

"Are you going to tell me why?"

"Are you going to tell me what your reason for bringing me here is?"

Beckett sighed, and took a sip of his ale. And immediately spat it back out again, his facial expression a mixture of horror and disgust, which Jadelyn thought was rather amusing on the dripping face of an esteemed admiral.

"By gad! What is this? Pigs urine!?"

Jadelyn smirked. "At this tavern? I wouldn't put it past them."

Beckett paused in the frantic wiping of his dress shirt, and glared at her unamused. This woman really got on his nerves sometimes.

"What? You were the one who suggested this tavern."

Beckett sighed again. "It came highly recommended. But we have other matters we need to discuss, captain. I have things to get on with today, and I would rather be doing them than sitting here talking to you."

Jadelyns' lips thinned almost imperceptably.

"So get on with it then."

Beckett leaned forward slightly in his seat.

"Ryder Daniels."

Jadelyn flinched at the name of her former first mate. Her eyebrows knitted together as she frowned at Beckett.

"That cowardly dog jumped ship when his attempts at mutiny failed miserably. Maybe he made it to port, maybe he was shark bait. I haven't heard from him in two years, and I hope never to in the rest of my life."

She leaned back in her seat, eyeing Beckett warily.

"What do you know? Should I be on my guard?"

Beckett looked at his hands, resting on the table, then back up at Jadelyn. "The man you knew as Ryder Daniels has been making a bit of a name for himself in these waters for a few months. He changed his name. Just last week, "Eye-patch" Daniels opened fire on two ships from my fleet as they headed back to port."

Becketts' expression turned to one of mild anger.

"The blackguard severely damaged my new ship, almost sank her. We turned our canons on him, and he immediately surrendered. We have him in custody now."

Jadelyns' frown deepened.

"Sounds too easy. You've got to watch that boy, admiral, he's got a head on his shoulders that one. Double his guard until you put him on trial."

She stood up abruptly.

"I have to go. Watch Daniels like a hawk, Beckett. I'm warning you now, the boy is as slippery as a greased eel."

Picking up her hat, Jadelyn waved her hand in a half-hearted goodbye.

"Until next time, admiral"

Beckett stood up.

"Jadelyn, wait."

She turned around.

"How long are you staying for?"

She shrugged.

"Few days, a week at best."

"Where can I find you if I need more information?"

Jadelyn grinned.

"Anywhere there's cheap booze and fine women, Beckett."

And with that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the door.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Wow! I wasn't expecting that much of a response! I'm glad you guys seemed to like this, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too .

Chapter 2 – A Brawl and Becketts' Breeches.

The evening after her meeting with Beckett saw Captain Jadelyn West pinned to a table by a very large, beefy man, in the midst of one of the biggest tavern brawls she had managed to get herself into since at least last week.

Drunken sailors formed a tight ring around her and her opponent, some clamouring to place bets, others egging on one or the other competitor, and one or two starting minor spats of their own.

Jadelyn could feel the man's hands around her neck, thumbs going for her windpipe. Arching her back and bucking her hips off the table, she slammed her feet into her opponents gut, flinging him backwards away from her.

She got up off the table, brushing herself off and cramming her hat more securely on her head.

Her opponent slowly pushed himself off the ground, panting and red in the face, trying to regain the breath Jadelyn had kicked out of him.

He got to his feet, wiping a hand across his sweaty forehead, before suddenly charging Jadelyn, head down, roaring like a raging bull.

She easily leapt out of the way, turning quickly and lashing out with her boot, catching him across his beefy backside and sending him hurtling into the very table he had had her pinned against not moments ago.

Groaning, he tried to raise himself up, but his arms gave way underneath him, and he collapsed yet again on the table.

Jadelyn quickly strode over to him, taking a tankard of ale from a nearby sailor on her way. She quaffed a good amount of the liquid, before bringing down the tankard on the back of her opponents head.

The table, badly built by a terrible carpenter, was unable to take the weight anymore and collapsed, sending the man sprawling spread-eagled on the floor, surrounded by splinters and broken table legs.

Jadelyn gulped down the rest of her ale, before handing back the empty tankard to the surprised sailor she had taken it from, and turning to face her audience.

"Anyone else want to have a go?"

Everyone shook their heads and avoided her gaze, the group beginning to disperse now that the fun was over.

Jadelyn glanced back at her semi-conscious opponent, who was being tended to by a couple of the more kind-hearted patrons, before heading wearily over to the bar to order another drink.

Plonking herself down on one of the stools, she took off her hat and looked up to find herself staring into the very angry eyes of the pretty Latina barmaid.

"Captain Jadelyn West. That's the second time you've gotten into a brawl in my tavern just this week! And you broke another one of my tables! And over what, exactly? That guy spill beer on you or something? I tell you, it's the last time, you hear me?"

Jadelyn sighed in annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah, just like the last time, and the time before that, and most likely that time that I used your favourite dish-washing rag to gag that ghastly fisherman." She shook her head as the barmaid folded her arms. "Face it, Vega, I'm prime entertainment whenever I'm here, and I keep the ruffians under control. That's got to be worth one measly, rotten old table, right?"

The barmaids' frown deepened. Jadelyn imagined she could almost see the cogs turning in her brain. Finally she sighed. "Alright, okay. I won't kick you out." Jadelyn smirked. "_Yet_. I won't kick you out _yet_. But one more broken table, one more slimy, fish-breath covered dishcloth, and you're out that door before you can say…"

"Captain West! Come quickly! Ryder Daniels has escaped!"

Jadelyns eyes widened as her expression turned from slightly derisive to angry, and maybe even a little scared. "Shit" she spat out as she quickly stood up and strode over to the scrawny young man in militia uniform who had suddenly burst through to door, yelling. She grabbed the front of his red coat and picked him up so his feet were dangling half a foot off the floor.

"What the hell happened? Tell me!"

Terrified, the man gulped, vainly grasping at Jadelyns hands before gasping out "I don't know! I was in the mess with a few other men, when suddenly the Admiral came hurtling in, blood all over his face, yelling something about Daniels somehow getting out. He ran up to me and told me to find the cheapest, dirtiest, most wench-filled tavern I could and bring him Captain West!" His voice rose to an impossibly high octave as Jadelyn practically threw him up against the door and pressed her hands closer to his throat.

"Did you see Daniels?"

"No, I swear, I came straight here to find you!"

Jadelyn dropped him in a heap on the floor.

"Get up! Take me to the Admiral now!"

The man scrambled to pick himself up, flailing to open the door, before Jadelyn hurled him away and kicked it open, breaking the latch. Grabbing the back of his coat, she frogmarched the unfortunate young man through the door and out into the dark street, yelling fearsome curses at any inebriated sailor stupid enough to stagger into her path.

The door to The Captains Sea Boot swung slowly shut, the broken latch dropping to the floor with a loud clang. The noise broke the stunned silence, and an old weather-beaten sailor sat in the corner whistled appreciatively.

As chatter filled the tavern once again, the young barmaid stepped round the bar and walked to the door to pick up the broken latch. Shaking her head, she headed back to the bar and put it down next to the glasses, making a mental note to take it to the blacksmiths the next day to see if he could fix it.

_Meanwhile…_

Storming angrily into the town's militia barracks, Jadelyn dropped the young soldier on the floor for the second time that night. The man was seriously regretting signing up now.

"BECKETT!" she roared. "Beckett, where the hell are you!?"

The Admiral stumbled out of what Jadelyn assumed to be the mess, further up the corridor, clutching what appeared to be a pair blood-stained breeches to a gash on his forehead.

"Jadelyn, thank god you're here! He got out! I don't even know how! I just saw him sauntering down the corridor like he owned the place. When he saw me he threw me against the wall like I was a feather, and just walked out!"

The captain growled angrily. "And you let him!? Where were your men? Did you even try to fight him?"

She was obviously very distressed, pacing angrily back and forth in front of Beckett, clutching fitfully at her long black locks, as if tearing them out would somehow fix this.

"Of course I tried to stop him! He caught me by surprise, and my men? Well, turns out it was card night in the mess, but I still had five guards on the door of his prison cell! Unconscious, the lot of them! "Beckett sighed irritably, glaring at the irate Captain. "Jadelyn, can you _please_ stop _moving_? You're making me dizzy just watching you."

The Captain paused, bunching her hands up into fists and letting out a sharp breath. Closing her eyes, she brought a clenched fist up to her lips, snarling out from behind it "Well, _Admiral_? What do you suggest we do?"

Beckett leaned against the wall, tired from the exhaustion of the last hour and weak from blood loss. "What I suggest, _Captain_, is calming down, and thinking about this logically. Where would he go, why would he go there? What is it he _wants_?"

Jadelyns' eyes shot open.

"The Sirens Gold," She murmured.

"I'm sorry?"

"The Sirens Gold. It's why he wanted my crew. I threw him overboard two years ago, because he became obsessed with finding the Gold. He tried instigating a mutiny, had my crew fired up over the riches he promised them if they got rid of me. They almost keelhauled me because that dirty bastard was chasing a legend." Her jaw clenched. "If he's out, he's most certainly searching again."

Beckett slid slowly down the wall into a sitting position. "Then why let himself be captured? Wouldn't he want to stay _out_ of prison if he wanted this Sirens Gold so much?"

Jadelyn shook her head, frustrated. "I don't know, I just don't… _oh_."

Beckett looked up at her. "Oh? _Oh_ does not sound good."

"That's because it's not." She resumed pacing. "Admiral, is old Governor Vaughn still lording it over the town?"

"Yes, I missed one of his tea-parties so I could speak to you yesterday."

"Never mind his tea-parties! Beckett, this is important! I think Daniels is headed to the palace. Vaughn used to own a huge collection of old maps he took from pirates he defeated years ago."

Beckett nodded absentmindedly. "Yes, he still does. I've seen it, it is rather impressive."

Jadelyn grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet. "Come on, he's looking for a map, and who knows what he'll do to get it!"

The breeches Beckett had been holding to his wounded head dropped from his nerveless grasp.

"Alyssa…"

Jadelyn looked confused. "Who?"

But the Admiral was already sprinting out the door and towards the Governors palace.

Jadelyn shrugged and picked up the breeches before jogging out of the barracks and following him up the street.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you guys for reading, hope you like it.

Chapter 3 – Party Time

Jadelyn lost sight of Beckett about half way up the main street, but by then she could easily see the governor's palace, perched atop a small hill that rose above the town. As she jogged up the incline, the raucous sounds of the town below faded to whispers on the wind.

As she arrived at the tall iron gates of the palace, she noticed they had been forced open. She sped up slightly.

She ran through the dark garden, lit only by the light of the half-moon overhead, passing a small tinkling fountain, marble statues of various shapes and sizes, even a summer house tucked away in the corner of the garden, finally arriving at the open front door of the palace.

She slowed down to a walk, pulling both her pistols from the sash around her waist, before creeping quietly into the gloomy, unlit lobby. There was nobody around, no sign of a struggle, which worried her. Realising she had no idea where the governor kept his maps, she decided finding Beckett was her best bet.

Stowing one of her pistols back in her sash, she sidled noiselessly towards the grand staircase, staying in the shadows created by the moon shining through the big bay window above the door. She carefully tested the first step for creaks, then the second. She was almost half-way up before the step squeaked beneath her. She froze, alert for any other movement. After a minute of nothing, she moved on.

It was when she reached the top that the uneasy feeling that she was being watched began. At first she brushed it off, stealing along the lushly carpeted hallway that stretched the length of the house from left to right. A shiver ran down her spine as she crept through the shadows on the left of the hallway.

The uneasy feeling was growing stronger, so she stopped. Drawing a small knife she kept hidden inside her boot and gripping it between her teeth, she tip-toed forwards again.

She almost had a heart attack when a high, breathy giggle suddenly shattered the silence.

"Hehehehe, Jadey, you know knives don't taste very nice, right? "

Jadelyn almost spat the knife from her mouth, growling in frustration, eyes frantically scanning the darkness for the source of the noise. Out of the shadows hurtled a small but very powerful juggernaut, smashing into Jadelyn and knocking her to the floor.

"CAT! Cat, get the bloody hell off me will you! And keep it down."

She attempted to roll out from underneath the weight on top of her, which turned out to be a young woman, shorter than Jadelyn, with flaming red hair. She was dressed in much the same way as Jadelyn, white blouse, black waistcoat and leggings, although her boots were ankle length and instead of a floppy hat she wore a scarlet and white polka-dot bandanna.

Jadelyn managed to scramble upright, and set about attempting to fix her hat. Cat bounced up happily, a huge grin on her face.

"Jadey, I'm so happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" She gasped. "You're not looking for the Sirens Gold too are you?"

Jadelyn immediately stopped trying to fix her creased clothes, and grabbed Cat's shoulders.

"Cat, have you seen Ryder?"

Cat giggled. "Sure, I saw him like ten minutes ago." She fiddled with a strand of her hair. "He asked if you were here with me, and I told him you weren't." She grinned and playfully punched Jadelyns' shoulder. "Well, you're here with me now. Ooh! Maybe we should go tell him!" She turned, no doubt about to skip off happily, but Jadelyn grabbed her arm, pulling her round to face her again.

"Cat, no, we can't tell him we're here."

Cats face dropped, and she glumly asked "Why not?"

Jadelyn, aware of Cats' rapid, and oftentimes violent mood swings, flounderd slightly, trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't upset the younger women. Finally she said "Because…it's a surprise! Yeah, yeah, it's a surprise, I'm throwing him a surprise party here, in the map room, and I don't want him to know about it. So, maybe me and you should head over there, sneaky like, see if he's there, and then we can bring in the decorations!"

Cats' face immediately lit up, and she grinned excitedly, bouncing up and down and clapping her hands together. "Oh, Jadey, that's so sweet! And there was me thinking you were trying to ruin his plan to steal the map and get the Sirens Gold!"

She continued rambling happily until Jadelyn cut her off. "CAT!" she hissed. "Be quiet, or he'll hear us." The smaller woman nodded seriously and mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key.

Jadelyn scanned the dark corridor, hoping Cat hadn't made too much noise and scared Ryder away, or worse, made him come looking for the source of the commotion. A slight sound at the end of the corridor made her stiffen, turning to Cat to warn the woman to be quiet. Cat was suddenly sombre, pointing noiselessly towards the end of the corridor, then to herself, nodding towards the shadows. Jadelyn nodded, it was a signal they had used before in the past.

Cat drifted silently off into the darkness, and Jadelyn slowly drew a long dagger she had stuffed carelessly into her sash. Creeping forwards, she had almost reached the end of the corridor before loud yelling and the sounds of a scuffle came from slightly to her left. Throwing caution to winds, she sprinted towards the noise, throwing herself at the two struggling shadows on the floor.

"Owch! What are you doi.. OW!"

Jadelyn recognised that voice. "Cat! Stop! It's okay, he's a friend!"

The smaller woman jumped up off the unknown figure sprawled on the ground. Jadelyn hauled him upright, shoving him into the faint light of the moon glowing through a small window. Glaring up at her was a very angry Admiral Beckett, his hair all over the place and a scowl on his lips.

"Captain, would you kindly explain who just attacked me, and more importantly, why?"

Jadelyn sighed. "Beckett, this is Captain Caterina Valentine, of the Swift Whisker. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what she's doing here, and as to why she attacked you, it's because she, we, thought you were Ryder Daniels."

Beckett nodded. "Caterina Valentine, huh? I've heard of you." He groaned, hauling himself upright by the velvet curtain hanging beside the window. "A privateer, if I am correct. You helped my predecessor out of a few tight spots."

Cat nodded. "Sorry I tried to beat you up. Although I thought you weren't Ryder, if that makes sense. Jadey told me we were throwing a party for Ryder, don't know why she'd want to hurt him."

Beckett looked perplexed. Jadelyn just shrugged, mouthing that she'd explain later.

Cat was still speaking, looking thoughtful. "Anyway, I thought you were that annoying old man Jadey and I locked in a closet last year."

Becketts' confusion deepened, but one look at Jadelyn told him to just drop it. Shaking his head, he interrupted Cat, who was happily reminiscing when "me and Jadey" captured a tea clipper that had been blown off course by a hurricane, and sold the entire ships contents to a passing British Royal Navy warship, placing his hand gently on her arm and saying "Caterina, have you seen Ryder recently? Is he here?"

Cat nodded, grinning, turning and pointing to a door about halfway back along the corridor. "He was in there when I saw him last, trying to steal a map. He said it would take him to the Sirens Gold. Why, are you helping with the party as well?"

Beckett shook his head. "Umm, no. I just wanted to, erm, say Hi,"

Cat giggled, twirling her hair. "Kay Kay. Well, why don't we go and find him so you can go say Hi then?"

Beckett nodded. "Sure, let's go!"

The set off down the dark corridor, Cats' voice breaking the silence once more to ask "Jadey, does my hair smell like strawberries to you?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Kidnapping Trina.

Crouching in the darkness outside the door to the map room, Jadelyn, Beckett and Cat silently nodded to each other, before Jadelyn kicked open the door, she and Beckett hurtling inside, weapons drawn, whilst Cat skipped happily in behind them yelling "SURPRISE!"

There was no one there. The place was ransacked, cases smashed, curtains torn, decades old maps littering the floor. Jadelyn angrily shoved her pistol back into her sash, striding further into the room. "Dammit! We're too late, he's not here."

Beckett had sheathed his cutlass, and was now closely inspecting the blank expanse of the far wall.

"Beckett, what are you doing? Daniels isn't hidden in the wall!" Jadelyn snarled.

Beckett shushed her, prompting the captain's lip to curl angrily. He peered at the wall, running his fingertips over some minute holes in the wallpaper. "Jadelyn, I thought you said this guy was clever."

"I did," She grunted.

"Then why has he gone for the biggest map the Governor owns? Why not go for a smaller, more accurate one?"

"Beckett, can you remember exactly what this map shows?"

He nodded, indicating the bare wall with a sweep of his hand. "Piri Reis's world map, taken by Governor Vaughn after Reis was beheaded by the Ottomans."

Jadelyn frowned. "Rings a bell, but I agree with you, why not steal a more precise map?"

From over in the corner, Cat piped up, "Maybe 'cos the map shows the coast of Brazil?"

Jadelyn sighed. "Cat, how is the coast of Brazil any help to Ryder? I thought the legend said the Gold was somewhere here, in the Caribbean?"

"Yeah, it says that." She twisted a strand of her bright hair around her finger. "But the legend also tells of the key. Some mystical being living in the rainforest is said to know where this key can be found." She shrugged. "I don't know, it's a legend, who knows if its right?"

Jadelyn nodded. "Yeah, who knows? But Ryder is mad with this thing, He wants this gold. He'd try anything."

All three shared a look, which was suddenly interrupted by an old man in a nightgown wandering through the door, a candle in his hand. "What the devil is going on here?" he sputtered indignantly. "What have you done to my map room?" He spotted Beckett, who waved at him sheepishly. "Admiral? What are you doing in my house at this ungodly hour?" He caught sight of the empty wall. "Where is my map!? BECKETT! I demand an explanation!"

The admiral twisted his hands together nervously. "Well, sir, it's like this…"

"Spit it out, sir" The governor roared, waving his candle around wildly.

Very quickly, Beckett explained. "There's this very dangerous man, sir, and he's, let's just say, slightly unhinged, and he's looking for this treasure he heard about in a story. Anyway, he came looking for a map that would tell him where to find some mystical being that would tell him the key to finding this treasure, and, that's all we know so far." He bowed his head, looking at the floor.

The governor turned to Jadelyn and Cat. "And what are you two pirate coves doing here?"

"Actually, I'm a privateer" Cat mumbled quietly.

"We're helping Admiral Beckett, sir," Jadelyn said. "Up until recently, Daniels was in my crew, I know how he works, so to speak."

The governor nodded once, then addressed Beckett. "Admiral, you'd better get my map back from this villain."

Beckett nodded.

"Well, you'd better get to it; it's not going to find itself now, is it?" He yawned. "I'm off to bed, all this excitement is making me sleepy." He shuffled off, turning once he reached the door to stare pointedly at Beckett, Jadelyn and Cat. "Get going then." He left, leaving behind him an awkward silence.

Jadelyn broke the silence. "Well, we'd better figure out Ryder's next move." Beckett and Cat nodded agreement. "Admiral, what happened to Ryder's ship and crew?"

"His ship, _The Seeker_, is in the docks, along with my fleet. His crew, as far as I am aware, are still in custody."

Jadelyn nodded, processing the information. "Well, he's smart enough to not attempt to get his ship back without his crew, and smart enough to know that his escape will mean double the guards at the prison, so his best bet is to find a new crew, and ship, fast."

"Where would he go to get those?" Beckett asked.

Jadelyn sighed. "Any crowded tavern near the port."

All three nodded in silent agreement.

"Back to The Captains Sea Boot we go."

_Meanwhile, at the aforementioned tavern_…

The barmaid was even angrier at this guy than she had been with Jadelyn. He was tall, dark, and handsome, and currently whipping her patrons up into a drunken frenzy. He stood on a table, wildly waving a tankard of ale, slopping most of it all over the place, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Come on, mateys, sign up here! Get a share of the Sirens Gold, and all the riches that come with it!" He waved a tattered rag over his head. "This map, mateys, this map, will make us richer than you can imagine!"

Sailors clamoured around him, yelling that they wanted to sign up, to be a part of his crew. He hauled a young man up onto the table with him, shoving his empty tankard of ale into his hand, and yelling over the noise of the crowd, "This man is my new first mate! Anyone who wants to sign up, tell him, and meet up at midnight at the Navy's very own port!"

As the seamen crowded around the startled young man, Daniels leapt off the table, and made his way to the bar. He leered at the young barmaid, rapping the counter with his knuckles. "Can I get a drink over here, miss…?"

She glared at him, drawing a tankard of ale. "Vega, miss Vega."

"Miss Vega, lovely surname. Can I get a first name with that?"

If it was possible for her frown to get deeper, it did. "Tori. Now, if you could excuse me…" She made as if to walk off, but the man grabbed her hand firmly. "Miss Tori Vega. Come on, stay here and talk with me a bit." He leaned closer to her. "I could make it very worth your while. I'm very good at talking."

She snarled at him in disgust, yanking her hand away from his. "There's wenches aplenty in this town, Mister, go and pay one of them if you so want to 'talk'." She stalked away to serve another inebriated sailor.

Daniels smirked, turning to survey the noisy tavern for one of these wenches. Spotting a woman gathering empty tankards, in a low cut, very revealing red corset, he motioned her over. She immediately placed her tray down on a nearby table, and sauntered over to Ryder.

"What can I help you with, sir?" The woman asked.

Ryder was about to answer her when Jadelyn and Cat came storming through the tavern door wielding pistols. Jadelyn fired hers in the air, the loud shot effectively silencing the crowd. Her long black hair flowing around her face in the draft through the door, she scanned the tavern menacingly. "Ryder Daniels." She growled. "Where is he?"

About thirty fingers pointed to Ryder, standing at the bar. "Ah, Captain West. Hello, how are you?" He eased one of his hands behind his back, grasping the pistol he had hidden in his belt.

Jadelyn coolly re-loaded her pistol, aiming it at Ryder's head. The crowd gasped. "Oh, I'm just dandy, Ryder. What you should be concerned about, however, is how you are. Or rather, how you are going to be if you don't hand over yourself and that map right away."

Ryder found the handle of his pistol, and grasped it firmly, drawing it out of his belt slowly. "Now, you see, Jade, that's where you're wrong." Jadelyn flinched at the familiar term. "You're wrong, in that, me, and my map, are walking out of here, unharmed, and you're just going to let us."

Jadelyn smirked. "Am I really? I don't see that happening, Ryder. I have the upper hand." She hefted her pistol to prove her point.

Ryder grinned. "Well, let's level the playing field shall we?" Whipping his pistol out from behind his back he shoved it under the chin of the pretty wench by his side. The crowd gasped again, and behind the bar Tori stifled a scream. "One thing I know about you Jadelyn, is that you would never harm a woman or a child. So, one step closer, or you fire that gun, and she's a goner. Understood?"

Jadelyn clenched her jaw, but slowly lowered her gun.

"Good. So, my crew and I, and this lovely young lady, are heading back to my ship, I won't keep you any longer." He started to sidle round Jadelyn and Cat, still prodding the young woman's chin with his gun.

"Wait!" Came a cry from the bar. All eyes turned on the pretty barmaid who had called out. "Please, that's my sister. Take me instead, don't hurt her." She pleaded, tears welling up in her chocolate brown eyes.

Ryder shrugged. "Sorry Tori, much as I would love to take you up on that offer, an exchange would offer Jade here too much of a chance to shoot me, and then I wouldn't get the gold. So I'm going to have to turn you down. Sorry."

He pushed the woman out of the door, following her, still with his pistol trained on her. Tori darted out from behind the bar and attempted to follow, but Jadelyn grabbed her round the waist, holding her back. "Stop, Vega, it's no use."

Tori struggled, kicking wildly. "Captain West, that's my sister! I have to do something! I have to rescue her! TRINA!" She yelled.

Jadelyn held on tighter, "No, Tori, if you go after him, he'll shoot you too. I can't let that happen. I promise you this though. Until we know for certain your sister is dead, I'll follow that man to the very depths of hell to get her back. We have to stop Ryder, and we will."

Tori finally relaxed in her arms, sobbing quietly. Cat walked up to Jadelyn, placing her hand on her shoulder. "I promise too. My ship and I are at your service. We'll stop Ryder. We swear."

AN: So I was going to call this chapter "Ryder is a complete prick," but decided against it. Also, I did a little research, and Wikipedia led me to the article on Piri Reis, and it's a very interesting read. Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you liked this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The Journey Begins.

Ryder Daniels was already regretting bringing the wench on board. They had hurriedly left port a few hours earlier, after easily defeating Becketts' men, leaving them tied up on the dockside. It was early morning now, and the only sounds where the waves slapping against the hull, the slight creaking of the rigging, and Trina's incessant chatter.

She was loosely chained to the mast, surrounded by a gaggle of eager sailors whom she had been regaling with lurid tales from the Captains Sea Boot since they set sail. The group burst out laughing at something the woman had said. Ryder growled to himself, turning on his heel and striding back to his quarters, hoping to get away from Trina's non-stop talking.

Inside his cabin, he sat down wearily at the table, and pulled out the map he had stolen from the Governors palace. Placing a tankard half full of grog on the top of the map to stop it rolling back on itself, he leaned back in his chair, and studied it, planning the best route to the Brazilian coast, and from there, to find the key to the treasure.

_Back at the Captains Sea Boot._

The atmosphere inside the tavern was subdued. The only patrons were sat huddled around a table in the corner, nursing mugs of ale and wondering what to do. They had been up all night, throwing round ideas, trying to come up with the best plan to stop Ryder and get Trina back. Tori had fallen asleep about half an hour ago, wrapped in a dirty old blanket Jadelyn had dug out from behind the bar, the tears on her face long since dried.

Cat and Jadelyn were sat close together, murmuring half formed plans to each other. The door creaked open, and in walked Beckett, bringing with him a draught of cool morning air. He took off his hat, the wound he had earlier sustained now wrapped in a clean bandage, and padded to the table where the group was sitting.

Glancing at the still sleeping Tori, he sat down, addressing Jadelyn and Cat in a low voice. "It's just as we feared. He left a few hours ago, his new crew and your wench in tow." He sighed. "He's got a big lead on us Jadelyn. We need to do something soon."

She nodded. "I agree, we can't just sit here and will her back. But we have to make plans. Cat and I have been talking. Both our ships are understocked, and it could take all day to get new supplies and bring them on board."

Tori, who had woken up just in time to hear that last sentence quietly joined the conversation. "Captain, why don't you and Cat combine all the supplies you have? You can have whatever we have in the back room as well."

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her, Cat piped up. "That's a good idea, but we'd only be able to bring one ship."

"We'll take mine, we careened her only a few weeks ago, she'll be fastest." Said Jadelyn.

Cat and Beckett nodded. Tori just looked confused. "Careened?"

Jadelyn rolled her eyes, forgetting for a moment that Tori was the only one amongst them who had never been to sea. "It means cleaning the boat, getting rid of barnacles and the like, so she goes through the water faster."

"Oh," Tori frowned, "Right."

Jadelyn turned back to the rest of the group. "So we take my ship, _The Shearwater._ Cat, pick twenty of your best crew members, and send them to my ship with all the supplies you can get."

The red head nodded, springing up from the table and hurrying out. Jadelyn turned to Beckett. "I'm assuming you're coming with us, Admiral?"

He nodded and grinned. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Captain."

"Well, in that case, we need weapons, especially if we're going to take on Daniels and his crew. Can you get us some?"

"Yes." He got up, putting his hat on his head. "I'll get them to your ship as soon as possible." He walked out of the tavern, leaving only Tori, Jadelyn, and a slightly awkward silence behind.

"What do you need me to do, Captain?" The barmaid asked.

Jadelyn thought for a moment. "Have you got any rum in that back room?"

Tori nodded. "Yes. Do you want me to find someone to bring it to your ship? It's quite a heavy barrel."

Jadelyn shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I'll have some crew members come up and bring it down." She got up to leave, and Tori quickly stood up as well. "Vega. Where do you think you're off to?"

Her face fell. "I'm coming with you, aren't I?"

"Have you ever sailed before?"

"No, but I'm a quick learner. Please, Jadelyn. I need to help bring my sister home, I can't just sit here and do nothing."

Jadelyn grumbled to herself, knowing how irritating it can be to have a land lubber on board. Eventually, prompted somewhat by Tori's hopeful expression, she caved. "Alright, alright. Pack something fit to wear on a ship." She looked the barmaid up and down, taking in the purple, low cut corset, and the sweeping black skirt. "Please tell me you own a pair of trousers."

_Aboard Ryder's ship, The Seeker._

Ryder spent the majority of the morning plotting his route to Brazil, striding out of his cabin at around noon to begin bellowing orders to his crew, who were starting to become a little weary of Trina.

They gladly leapt up to do his bidding, and the rigging creaked and the waves slapped the hull faster as the ship began to change course and pick up speed. Ryder headed over to Trina, still chained to the mast but much quieter now that her audience has dissipated, and took a key out of his pocket.

"I'm going to unlock you, and take you to an empty cabin. You can stay there until our little voyage is over with. I'll have a boy bring food to you."

He unlocked the padlock, and she quickly struggled out of the heavy chains and got to her feet.

"Excuse me, _sir_, but I would really like to know why I'm even here."

"Ryder sighed, and patiently explained. "Because you were the nearest person to take hostage. Trust me, I don't want you here."

Trina frowned. "Rude. But I meant, my sister, Tori, offered herself in my place. Why didn't you take her? Is it because I'm prettier? Yeah, that's probably it." She went off on a little rant, exclaiming how much better she was at everything than her sister. Ryder tried to block out her voice as he escorted her to her cabin, and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally closed the door on her, and headed back to his own quarters to study the map some more.

_Aboard the ship of Captain West, The Shearwater._

Everything was ready. Well, almost. Scruffy cabin boys scurried up and down the gangplank, pushing wheelbarrows crammed with food, sailcloth, weaponry. Sailors shouted gruff orders at each other, and slowly, slowly, the great sails unfurled. Standing proudly at the helm was Captain Jadelyn West, hair and coat tails flapping in the strong breeze. At her shoulder stood Cat, a huge grin on her face, excited for the adventure ahead. Beckett was ordering his men around, cutting a dashing figure in his Royal Navy uniform and large hat.

All in all it was a magnificent sight as _The Shearwater _sailed away from port, easily traversing the packed docks under the expert hand of Jadelyn, before finally heading out into open waters.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Life Afloat.

Dawn on the high seas is a beautiful thing. Azure waters stretching out as far as the eye can see, meeting the far away washed out horizon just as the sun comes up, a blaze of yellow and orange and red, shimmering on the water below and the wispy clouds above.

Tori wasn't paying the picturesque scene around her any attention, however. This being her first time on a boat, her delicate stomach was still getting used to the up down, up down, up down of the waves.

They were two days out of port, and for most of the trip she had been hung over the side of the ship. Hearing someone approaching from behind her, she groaned, hauling herself up, and sliding slowly into a slumped position on the deck.

Cat was her usual bubbly self, all but thrusting a flask of water into Tori's hand. "You should drink this, it'll make you feel a bit better."

Tori weakly accepted the flask, and took a few tentative sips. She leaned her head back against the side of the ship. "I love my sister, I really do, but I really, really don't think Trina is worth this."

Cat giggled, taking the flask from Tori. "Don't worry, you'll get used it in a few days." She held out her free hand. "Come on, Jadey's holding a meeting in her cabin to discuss the route."

Tori grasped the proffered hand, hauling herself upright with a groan. "Ugh, alright. Maybe it'll take my mind off all this rocking and moving about." They walked to Jadelyns' cabin, Cat skipping happily beside a stumbling Tori.

Beckett was already there, playing with one of the complicated instruments Jadelyn used to measure distances with. The captain looked up from her charts as they entered. "Tori, Cat, so glad you could make it." She rolled her eyes. "Take a seat, if you will."

Tori slumped into the chair immediately, Cat leaving her side and going to stand next to Jadelyn. Beckett put down the pair of compasses he was playing with, and leaned over to look at the maps. "So, captain, where are we headed exactly?"

Jadelyn pointed at the map. "Here. Brazil. If my calculations are correct, which they are, then we should be there in about a month."

"What!?" Tori gazed at Jadelyn, panicked. "I can't stay on this ship for a month! I'll waste away!"

Jadelyn scoffed. "Vega, you'll be fine, you'll get used to it."

"I said that too!" Cat said sunnily. Jadelyn shot her a look, and Cat shut up immediately.

"Okay, well, I think that's it. Beckett, Cat, if I need you two, I'll send someone to fetch you. Tori, go lie down and stop whining, the journey will fly by." They all got to their feet, some slower than others, and exited the cabin, Jadelyn heading below decks to wake up her crew and yell orders at them.

_Below decks._

Most of the crew were sleeping off the effects of the new barrel of rum from the Captains Sea Boot, which, to their great delight, had been opened the night before. Only one was up early, like he always was. He lay quietly in his hammock, gazing at the swaying ceiling above him, humming quietly to himself.

When he heard Jadelyns' sea boots jangling down the stairs, he hurriedly sat up, pulling on his own boots. "Rise and shine everyone, rise and shine!" Jadelyn yelled, shocking the crew out of their drunken stupor. She picked up a nearby pot, banging on it with the hilt of her cutlass, causing most of her hungover crew men to clap their hands over their ears and protest at the noise.

She grinned, surveying the men. Noticing the young man who was the only one stood next to his hammock with anything like the alertness she wished her men had, she hailed him. "Mr Harris, glad to see you up so bright and early, you set a great example to all these men."

A nearby sailor groaned out "Only because he doesn't drink. What sort of a seaman doesn't drink?"

"Jadelyn grabbed the man by the collar of his filthy shirt. "The sort of seaman who easily outranks you, and whom I would happily let throw you over the side and to the sharks." She dropped him on the floor, turning once again to the young man. "Andre, see that these men get fed and watered, I want them up on deck and ready for inspection in the next half hour."

Andre saluted. "Aye, captain." He addressed the sailors around him. "You heard the captain, get up and to the galley, or I'll have you picking weevils out the sea biscuits for a fortnight!"

Jadelyn grinned at the crew as they hauled themselves groggily from wherever they had fallen asleep the night before, before heading back up on deck to sort out her charts.

_Later that same day._

Pleasantly surprised that the crew had managed a fair turnout for inspection, Jadelyn stood at the wheel with Cat, watching as her crew performed various tasks around the ship, Andre's fine voice leading the gruff crew in a vulgar sea shanty. At least it kept their spirits up whilst they worked.

Cat giggled slightly at the lyrics to the song.

"_I know of a tavern not far from here__  
Where you can get some mighty fine beer__  
The company's true and the wenches are pretty__  
It's the greatest damn place in the whole of the city__  
If you're looking for crewmates, you'll sure find 'em there__  
Cutthroats and lowlifes and worse I should dare__  
Ol' Nancy don't care who comes to her inn__  
It's a den of debauchery violence and sin__"_

Jadelyn turned to look at her. "What are you giggling at?"

The red head shrugged happily. "I like the song, it's funny."

Jadelyn sighed, and decided to head back to her cabin when Cat started humming along to the chorus. As she reached the cabin door, she heard the woman join in with the crew, her voice ringing out clearly over those of the crew.

"_So come take a drink and drown your sorrows,  
and all of our fears will be gone till tomorrow.  
Have no regrets and live for the day,  
in Nancy's harbour café."_

AN: For those of you interested, the song is "Nancy the tavern wench" by Alestorm. Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: This chapter is dedicated to my pissing annoying neighbours, who have been setting off small nuclear bombs disguised as fireworks all week. I would like to thank them for that, as it gave me the idea of having a bloody sea battle, with raging cannons and muskets and what-not, take place during this chapter. Happy bonfire night guys.

(Quick warning, it gets a little bloody in this chapter, but nothing too graphic, I shouldn't think.)

Chapter 7 – Cannon Fire In The Night.

Tori awoke in complete darkness to the sound of cannon fire, screams, and the clashing of steel upon steel. There was a particularly loud "BOOM!" and the whole ship shuddered. The door to her cabin swung open, and a short, swarthy pirate whom she had never seen before leered evilly at her. She cowered in the corner as he levelled his cutlass at her throat, closing her eyes, waiting for the final blow.

Just as he was no doubt about to remove her head, he gurgled. Opening one eye, she gasped, and recoiled further into the corner. Blood dripped from his mouth, as he gazed unseeingly as the cutlass protruding from his chest. He fell forwards, in what seemed to Tori to be slow motion, revealing his killer. A tall shadow, long dark hair flowing in the wind, her frame outlined by the occasional flash of cannon fire, against a backdrop of drifting smoke from the burning sails.

She was stood almost ten feet away from the door, having hurled her cutlass so that it had impaled Tori's would-be killer through the back with pinpoint accuracy. The figure strode towards Tori, who was still seeing things in striking slow motion.

Another cannon boomed, the flaming ball smashing into the deck just behind the tall woman, sending large, flaming chunks of wood hurtling into the air, but the figure kept coming. It reached the door to Tori's cabin, holding out a hand to her. She was saying something, but the terrified woman was too deeply in shock to hear what was being said.

The tall woman stooped down and picked her up as if she weighed nothing, carrying her out on deck, shielding her with her own body as she sprinted towards the captains' quarters through a hail of ricocheting musket shot and fire.

Cat was pacing nervously in Jadelyns quarters. The pirate captain had woken her immediately when, waking with an uneasy feeling, she had headed out on deck and caught sight of the Spanish three-masted sloop bearing down on them.

Together they had roused the crew, but before they had even attempted to fire the first shot, the sloop had cruised alongside them, and her crew had boarded. They had fought, the crews of both ships exchanging cannon fire until the sloop suddenly pulled away. The crew of _The Shearwater_ had cheered, doubling their efforts to dispatch the remaining Spanish crew.

But then the other ship began raining flaming cannon down on them, sending the sails up in flames in seconds. Jadelyn had bundled Cat into her cabin, yelling at her to stay put whilst she went to rescue Tori.

The cabin doors burst open, and an exhausted Jadelyn stumbled in, cradling a bundle protectively in her arms. She tenderly placed the young woman she had been carrying onto her bed, before grabbing a nearby tankard of water and downing it.

Cat kneeled at Tori's side, the woman staring glassily past her. Cat looked up at Jadelyn, and was surprised to see tears glistening in her eyes.

"It's no use Cat, we've lost. I don't think we ever could have won." She hurled the empty tankard against the wall, choking back a frustrated sob. "This was never meant to happen! We were meant to catch Ryder, get the girl and go home!" She angrily dashed the tears from her eyes, grabbing her spare cutlass from its place on the wall.

Cat stood up, placing a calming hand on her friends shoulder. "Jade, it's okay. We're not dead, we haven't lost yet." She glanced towards the semi-conscious woman on Jadelyns' bed. "We have to get her out of here. Are the longboats damaged?"

Jadelyn shook her head. "They're on the port side; I don't think the cannon fire got to them."

Cat nodded. "Okay, okay. I'm going to need you to carry Tori. Take her to the longboats, and keep her safe until I get there." Jadelyn nodded, carefully picking up Tori, who had slipped into unconsciousness. "Cat, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get supplies, get Andre and Beckett, and anyone who is still alive."

Jadelyn nodded, starting to walk towards the door, before turning to her friend. "Good luck, Cat. Be safe."

The read head nodded, and Jadelyn turned, and sprinted out of the door.

She ran through the fire and the smoke and the fighting until she reached the longboats, placing Tori gently in the nearest one. Wielding her cutlass, she stood protectively over her until she saw three figures approaching her through the smoke.

Andre had taken a musket ball to his arm, but luckily the wound was only superficial. Both he and Beckett were covered in numerous scratches and bruises. Cat was carrying a small bundle of food and a water skin. She put these in the longboat next to Tori. Jadelyn motioned for Beckett and Andre to get in the boat with Tori. She put her hand on Cat's shoulder. "Where is everyone?"

The younger woman gazed at her sadly. "I don't know, Jade. I think maybe taken prisoner, they've taken the entire ship."

Jadelyn nodded sorrowfully. Turning to survey her burning vessel one last time, she saluted her dead and captured crew men. "I promise I will avenge you. I will make these scum-bags pay."

She clambered wearily into the boat, and cast off, Beckett and Andre taking the oars, Cat tending to Tori whilst Jadelyn sat alone at the prow, silent tears running down her face as she watched her beloved ship burn. She did not turn away until the last of the charred embers had sunk beneath the waves.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Lost On An Island Somewhere.

Torrential rain swept down punishingly on the remaining crew of _The Shearwater_, soaking them to the skin as they grappled against the giant waves that attempted to overturn the small boat. The wind screamed at them, and Jadelyn screamed back, cursing any and all she could name, predominantly Ryder Daniels.

Gale force winds sent sea water and driving rain sloshing into the bottom of the boat. It was difficult to tell if they were on the water or in it.

After battling the elements for the better part of the night, the longboat couldn't take the beating any longer, and it and its human contents were flung head over heels into the freezing water.

…

Jadelyn awoke to blinding sunlight, and a small, slimy something wriggling in her hair. She sat up quickly clawing at the moving thing entangled in her long locks. It was a tiny, silver fish, twisting and turning and gasping for air. Realising she was sitting half in, half out of the water; she released the fish into the ocean, and looked around her.

She was sat on a small beach, sand clinging to her soaking clothes, hat nowhere to be found. White topped waves raced towards the beach, smashing against the barrier of pointy rocks about half a mile out to sea. Looking behind her, she saw a dense green jungle, no doubt filled with all sorts of nasty creatures.

She shivered, looking around the rest of the beach. There was no one there. She struggled to her feet, searching frantically with her eyes for any sign of the rest of her crew. Further to her right she saw a dark, unmoving bundle.

She staggered as quickly as she could across the white beach, collapsing next to the shape on the sand. The figure had its back to her, so she slowly turned it around, dreading what she would find. A pale face, framed by startling red hair, eyes closed and lips blue from the cold of the ocean.

Jadelyns' eyes blurred with tears as she pawed at Cat's neck, searching desperately for a pulse, crying out in joy when her fingers found a weak thump-thump at her friends' throat.

At the sound of her voice, Cats' eyes fluttered open, and she drew in a gasping breath. "Jadey, is that you?"

Jadelyn hugged Cat closer to her, blinking away unshed tears. "Yeah, yeah it's me, don't worry, we're going to be alright."

The younger woman nodded tiredly and snuggled closer to Jadelyns' warmth. "If you say so. But I'm so cold." She shivered, and Jadelyn held her tighter. "I'll make a fire, Kitty-Cat, and build a shelter. It'll be just like when we were kids, and dreamed of running away and living on a desert island."

Cat smiled, slipping slowly into unconsciousness as Jadelyn half carried, half dragged her friend to the tree line.

…

It was noon by the time Tori woke. At first, her eyes wouldn't open, so she made use of her other senses. She could smell salt, and mud, and trees, and wet clothing. She could hear the screeching of exotic birds, and the rustling of unknown animals in the undergrowth.

Her mind wandered to a time, when she had been very young, and an old sailor had come into the Captains Sea Boot, then owned by her parents, with a small, brown animal with a very long tail sat on his shoulder. He had called it a monkey, and it had made such a racket and a mess, stealing tankards of ale and hurling them moodily around the tavern, screaming at the other patrons, that her parents had eventually turfed the old sailor and his pet out the door.

Now that she had a name for at least one of the noises, she carefully opened her left eye. Bright sunlight filtered through big green leaves, bouncing off rippling waters and reflecting on the overhead canopy.

She realised she was lying waist deep in warm water. She scooped some up in the palm of her hand, and trickled it gently over her face, washing away the salt that was encrusted there after her battle with the sea, and discovered she could now open her other eye.

With this new perspective, she glanced down through the shallow water, and wriggled her toes. Deciding that both her legs worked, she slowly clambered to her feet.

She was surrounded by tall, thin, twisted trees, the water halfway up their gnarled roots. Knee deep in warm salt water, Tori decided it was probably a good idea to try and find some sort of dry land, so she sloshed deeper in to the forest.

_Meanwhile_

Jadelyn had started a fire, and, venturing into the fringes of the jungle with her cutlass, had returned with handfuls of giant leaves, with which she had built an impromptu lean-to. Cat had woken up, warmed sufficiently by the fire, and they were discussing what to do.

"I think we should stay here, at least until you're a bit stronger."

Cat shook her head. "We have no supplies; they were lost during the storm. We need to find food and water, and then go look for the others."

Jadelyn nodded. "Okay, you stay here and keep warm, I'll go look for a stream or something. There's bound to be one going across the beach to the sea. I'll see if I can find something to eat as well." She patted her friends shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get out of here, find Ryder, and I'll kick his sorry ass so hard he won't be able to sit down for a week." She stood up and strode across the beach resolutely.

…

Tori had been wading through the swamp for nearly two hours, taking a break every now and then for a drink. She had discovered that the water got less salty the deeper into the jungle she got. Her stomach rumbled incessantly, and she began muttering angrily to herself. Why did Trina have to go and get herself kidnapped? Why did she decide to go and rescue her, the woman had been nothing but trouble for Tori since they were children.

Grumbling frustratedly to herself, Tori didn't notice the trees thinning, or the water getting shallower. It was only when she felt mud squelching between her toes, and smelt wood smoke, did she stop walking.

Spotting a small lean-to made of leaves, with smoke from a small fire drifting skywards, she crept quietly towards it.

…

Jadelyn hadn't found any water. Scowling, she trudged back up the beach to where she had left Cat. Drawing closer to the lean-to, she saw a shadowy, human figure creeping menacingly through the dense jungle towards the sleeping Cat.

Her hand immediately went her belt, groping for her cutlass, and drawing it swiftly. She started running across the beach, determined to save Cat from whatever island savage was about to cook and eat her. Yelling to distract the figure, still half hidden in shadow, she charged it, cutlass held high, ready to part this savage from his head if necessary.

The figure shrieked in a surprisingly high voice. "Jade! Stop! It's me!" Jadelyn stopped mid swing, directing the cutlass so that it buried itself in the ground, inches away from Tori's foot.

"Tori! What the hell are you playing at!? Don't do that again!"

Cat, woken up by all the yelling, chimed in. "What's going on here? Oh, Hi, Tori. When did you get here?"

Tori turned to the red head. "Hey, Cat, I just got here now, luckily still with my head." She glared at Jadelyn, who glared back. "I thought you were about to cook and eat Cat!"

Tori looked perplexed. "What?"

"Oh, never mind." Jadelyn waved her hand airily. "We've got more important things to talk about." She glanced at the woman still lying on the floor. "Cat, I'm so sorry, I couldn't find any water."

"There's like a whole swamp full back that way a bit," Tori piped up. "It tastes pretty fresh."

Jadelyn held out her hand to Cat, helping her up, and kicking sand over the fire to put it out. "Well, let's go get some water, and then we'll go find Andre and Beckett."

AN: I guess this is just a bit of a filler chapter, so I'll try and update a bit quicker with the fun ideas I have planned for next chapter. *Evil grin.* Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, I lied, I didn't update quickly. Sorry. But have an extra - long chapter to make up for it.

Chapter 9 – Beckett and Burf and Andre and Sinjin

Beckett awoke with a pounding pain in his skull, and his wrists and feet tied up, and a gag around his mouth. Slowly he opened his eyes, groaning inwardly at the sight before him.

A still unconscious Andre was tied up next to him in much the same manner as himself. They were lying in the semi-darkness at the edge of a campfire, the starlight from above blocked by a thick tree canopy. Hunched over the fire were two shadowy, skinny figures, one of which was turning two unknown small animal carcasses on a spit.

Next to him Andre groaned in pain as he slowly regained consciousness. One of the figures stood up and turned his head to the two captives, his face still shrouded in darkness. He was a lot taller than Beckett had expected, and he seemed to grow even larger as he approached the two men bound on the forest floor.

He was dressed in a short brown tunic, tied around his slim waist with a vine. Daubed on his skin was green and black paint. He wore no shoes. Beckett looked up at him as he hunkered down beside Andre, and started removed his gag.

Fearing the worst, and having no other option, Beckett growled through his gag. The unknown man stared at him curiously. He stood up and moved over to Beckett, reaching to untie his gag. Beckett let him, biding his time until it was off, before lunging forwards and sinking his teeth into his captors' hand.

The man screamed in pain, in a surprisingly high pitch, and shook his hand wildly, forcing Beckett to let go. He backed away, tripping over Andre and landing flat on his back, the air audibly whooshing out of his lungs.

His friend abandoned their dinner, and rushed over to help him. Beckett shook his hair out of his eyes, and glared at the downed man. "That's what you get if you try to hurt me or my friend!"

They both turned to face him, the one he had bitten cradling his injured hand to his chest. "You speak English?" The taller one asked.

Beckett nodded guardedly. "Yes."

The other man reached his hand forward with a warm smile. "Oh, that's good, we thought you were Spanish. We really don't like the Spanish."

Beckett nodded his agreement, remembering in vivid detail the loss of _The Shearwater._ "No, me neither."

Suddenly Becketts' stomach growled. He looked at his captors sheepishly. "Sorry, can't remember the last time I ate."

The man whose hand Beckett had bitten reached out and untied his hands. "Oh, so sorry. Here, come and join us." He gestured towards the campfire, where two hunks of meat were resting on a spit over the flames.

Beckett got up and took a step towards the fire, but a muffled grunt from the area of his feet stopped him short.

"Perhaps your friend would like to join us too?"

Andre glared up at Beckett, holding up his still bound hands to be untied. Beckett reached down and removed the vines from his friends feet and hands, and pulled off the gag.

"Why thank you so much Beckett, I thought you had almost forgotten me then." They both walked over to the fire, where their former captors where slicing up the food.

Beckett turned to the taller one. "So, what are your names, and how did you end up here?"

The man handed him a slice of meat. "Careful, it's a bit hot. My name is Sinjin." He motioned to his companion, who was handing another slice of meat to Andre. "That's Burf. A few years ago, we were on a merchant vessel, headed for Brazil, but we were attacked by Spanish pirates. They captured the rest of the crew, but we escaped, and got washed up here on this island. After a few days, we wandered inland a bit, and found a tribe of people, people who, through shipwreck, pirates, or just bad luck, had found their way here. They welcomed us, and we've been here ever since."

Burf nodded in agreement. "We're very happy here. I'd say its real good luck we ended up on the island."

Sinjin handed around a water skin. "But that's enough about us, what about you?"

Beckett stared at the fire, taking a sip of water. "Much the same as you, actually. We were sailing for Brazil, when we were attacked by a Spanish vessel. We escaped in the longboats, got caught up in a storm and ended up here, bound and gagged in the middle of the forest."

Sinjin and Burf exchanged uncomfortable looks. "Yeah, sorry about that, we really thought you were Spanish."

Beckett patted their shoulders. "No worries, we've sorted it all out now."

Andre, who had been awfully quiet up until now, spoke up from the other side of the campfire. "We weren't alone. Three women were with us. The captain of the ship, and two other good friends. Did you see them when you found us?"

Burf shook his head. "No, or they'd be here with you. There's another beach around the other side of the island, maybe they got washed up there?"

"Can you take us there?" asked Beckett.

"Sinjin nodded. "Of course, but it's dark, and late, and it's a long walk. We should get some rest, we'll leave at first light."

Beckett and Andre agreed grudgingly, and they all settled down for the night.

_Meanwhile._

"Jadelyn, my feet hurt. Like, really hurt. Can't we stop for a little rest?"

"No, stop whining Vega, we have to find Andre and Beckett."

"But they could be anywhere, and I haven't slept since this morning, and that was only because I was unconscious. Please, just five minutes?"

Jadelyn rounded on Tori, grabbing the front of her tattered shirt. "Vega. Shut. Up. If you want to rest, fine, but good luck catching up to me and Cat. We're carrying on looking for our _friends._"

She released Tori, turning around and striding off ahead again. Tori straightened her shirt, stung a little by Jadelyns demeanour. Cat, still a little weak on her feet, looped her arm through hers, whispering in her ear.

"Don't worry about it, she's like that to everyone."

Tori sighed. "Not to you, she's nice to you."

Cat shrugged. "Yeah, but we've known each other since we were kids, we grew up together. I guess she just takes a while to warm up to people."

Tori shook her head. "Yeah, a long while."

Jadelyn suddenly appeared out of the shadows, clapping her hands over Tori and Cats' mouths.

"Shut it, will you? I think found them." She slowly lowered her hands, motioning for the other women to be silent, and they crept forwards together.

Tori caught a glimpse of flames flickering between tree trunks. Jadelyn slipped through the shadows soundlessly, cutlass drawn. Cat padded silently off to the left, flanking the figures around the campfire. Tori counted four, Tow unknowns, and Beckett and Andre. Not really knowing what to do, she hung back as Jadelyn crept up behind Beckett.

She placed her hand over his mouth, waking him immediately. She pinned him to the ground when he tried to roll out from underneath her. "Stop Beckett, it's me." She growled into his ear. "We've come to rescue you. Are you hurt?"

Beckett tried to speak but she cut him off. "Stay quiet, we don't want to wake them." Beckett tried to pull her hand away from his mouth, but failed. "Don't struggle, please, they'll wake up."

Beckett didn't stop moving, finally managing to remove Jadelyns' hand from his mouth. "Jadelyn, listen to me." He hissed. "They're friends, it's okay!"

Jadelyn frowned at him. "What?"

"They thought we were Spanish, and captured us, but we worked it out. They're just like us Jadelyn, ship captured, washed ashore here. There's a whole bunch of them living deeper in the rainforest."

Jadelyn stood up. "Fine, if you say they're friendly, maybe they can help us get out of here." She turned to Sinjin, who seemed to be a surprisingly deep sleeper, and kicked him lightly. He muttered something unintelligible, and rolled over. Jadelyn kicked him harder.

"Get up!"

He swatted at her, still asleep, and his hand landed in the glowing embers of the campfire.

"Yowch!"

He awoke fully, jumping up, narrowly missing Jadelyn's cutlass, and grabbing the nearly empty water skin and pouring its contents on his burnt hand.

"Wha..? Who are you? What was that for!?"

"My name is Captain Jadelyn West, formerly of _The Shearwater._ You captured my friends." She gestured to Beckett and Andre, who had woken up during the commotion. "I needed to wake you up."

Sinjin cradled his hand to his chest for the second time that evening. "Couldn't you have done it a little more subtly?"

Jadelyn shook her head. "Nope. Now, Beckett tells me there are more of you. Take me to them."

Sinjin glared at her, rubbing his sore hand. "No, I shan't. You hurt my hand."

Jadelyn grabbed his injured hand, twisting his wrist slightly to look at it. "You'll be fine, it's just a little red. Are these bite marks?"

He snatched his hand away, still glaring at her and nursing his hand. Beckett got up and stood in front of Jadelyn. "Captain, that was uncalled for. You need to learn to be nicer to people, brute force doesn't always get you what you want."

Jadelyn glared at him sullenly. "It does most of the time."

Beckett shook his head, glancing around at the occupants of the campsite. "Where are Tori and Cat, were they with you?"

"Yeah." She motioned towards the forest. "Cat, Tori, get out here. Seems these guys are friends."

Cat skipped happily out of the undergrowth, bouncing up to Andre and giving him a hug. Tori followed more slowly, picking leaves out of her hair.

Jadelyn turned back to Sinjin and Burf. "Okay, everyone's here. Let's go."

"Sinjin huffed. "Not until you say please."  
Jadelyn rammed the point of her cutlass under his nose, spitting out from between gritted teath. "Please."

A terrified Sinjin, followed by Jadelyn, Tori, Cat, Beckett and Andre, headed off into the woods, Burf stopping behind momentarily to kick some dirt over the fire to put it out, before hurrying after the others.

AN: Next time, we meet Sikowitz.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: So I wanted to delve a little more into Jades' past, peel away the layers and find out why she's so grumpy all the time, so to speak, and this was the result. (I also wanted to step up the Jori slightly, it's been a little thin on the ground in recent chapters.) I apologise if it gets too out of character, and I appreciate any feedback. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 10 – Old Man Sikowitz

Early morning sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves swaying gently above Jadelyns' head, bathing her in an almost ethereal glow. Her eyes were closed, her breathing calm, but she wasn't quite asleep.

Sunlight burnt red through her closed eyelids, turning her world smoky and blood soaked. She shifted uncomfortably, as the sounds of battle raging all around her echoed from long ago. She drifted deeper into a disturbed slumber, the scent of woodsmoke from the embers of the fire sending her hurtling into a haunted dreamscape of an almost forgotten past.

_She couldn't see much past her outstretched hand. A thick, dense fog swirled closely around her, coloured red from the blood and the fire. Flashes of canon fire illuminated huge, elongated shadows of the fighting all around her, gruesome silhouettes depicting death and violence. It was backed by a soundtrack of screams and slashing swords and the deep boom-boom of raging canon. _

_A gruff shout from behind her. "Jade! Jade, where are you?" _

_A figure loomed through the smog, grasping her round the waist and picking her up, cradling her against its chest. Terrified, she clung to his soot stained shirt, as he shouted hoarsely in her ear "It's okay, Jade, I'm going to get you out of here!" _

_He ran through the smoke, dodging the clashing swords of pirates and sailors all around them. There was a wet thud, and he grunted, but kept on running. He reached the longboats, where it was quieter. There were three men there, each clutching a bag of food, a flask of water, and drawn cutlasses. They started towards him when they saw him, but he waved them aside. _

_The man holding Jadelyn gently placed her in one of the longboats. He stroked her long hair out of her watery eyes, and she stared back at him. "It's going to be okay, Jade." He winced slightly, and for the first time she noticed the spread of blood at his shoulder. "I promise. I'm so sorry it has to end like this." He pulled her into a tight, one armed hug. "Just know, I will always love you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He released her, and she gazed solemnly at him with big sea green eyes. _

_He chuckled sadly. "You have the most beautiful eyes, Jade. Just like the sea." _

_He turned away from her as the sounds of fighting grew closer. He turned to the three men, motioning to one, a tall, bearded man with an eye-patch over his left eye. "Stevenson, stay with her. Make sure she gets somewhere safe. Somewhere she'll be loved." _

_Stevenson protested. "Captain, what about you? Save her, save yourself, we will stay and fight." _

"_No." The captain almost growled out. His anger faded quickly, to be replaced by a look of sad resignation. "My time is up. Her life is just beginning. I shall stay with my ship, until the end." He swiftly brushed a tear from his eye, leaning down into the longboat to place a tender kiss on Jadelyn's head. She clung to him, even at nine years old able to tell she might never see him again. _

_Stevenson climbed into the boat, and the supplies were loaded in beside him. "I'll keep her safe sir, I promise." _

_The captain saluted him, and cast off the longboat. He stood at the side of the boat, right hand raised in farewell, tears now openly coursing down his face. _

_Jadelyn, seeing his tears, felt a sob well up in her chest. "Goodbye, Daddy." She called, her voice lost in the sounds of battle. "I love you…"_

Jadelyn woke with a start, tears soaking her face, chest heaving with sobs. She felt arms around her, and she clung on tight, not caring who saw her.

"Jade, Jade, it's okay, I'm here, I'm here, it's alright." Tori's voice barely registered, Jadelyn was still wrapped in the dissipating tendrils of her dream, but the low, whispered comforts, coupled with the womans arms wrapped securely around her, drew her back to the present, slowly calming her.

Eventually, her sobbing died down, but she made no attempt to escape from Tori's embrace, fearing that if she let go, she'd fall back into her dream.

Tori rocked the broken woman gently in her arms, a few tears of her own escaping her eyes at the sight of the captain, usually so tough and brave, reduced to a wreck by a dream. They sat there for almost half an hour, before Jadelyn sniffed once, finally, and shifted slightly. Tori immediately let go, afraid that Jadelyn was back to her normal self, pushing her away again, but to her surprise, the pirate captain clung on tighter.

"Umm, Tori, could you just hold on a little longer?" Her voice was raspy and quiet with tears. The younger woman nodded, cradling Jadelyn against her chest.

"Of course, don't worry, I'm here." She continued rocking her back and forth, after a while plucking up the courage to ask the other woman what was wrong. "Jade, can I ask why you were so upset? I woke up and you were tossing and turning, and crying. I was so worried."

Jadelyn sighed. "Sorry, Tori, it was just a stupid nightmare. I didn't mean to scare you." She pulled herself away from Tori slightly, turning to look at the rest of the group, still asleep around the burnt out campfire.

"They'll be waking up soon." She hesitated, still so comfortable wrapped in the other womans' embrace, but she knew she had to get up. Reluctantly, she stood up, holding out her hand to Tori. Both women felt slightly odd at the loss of contact, but shook it off when Andre began to stir, mumbling something about herrings.

Jadelyn rubbed her eyes vigorously, sniffing one more time, and turning to face Tori. "If you tell anyone about this, Vega, I'll hang you from the yardarm and let the seagulls feast on your innards, you got that?"

Tori saluted, grinning. "Aye Aye, captain." Jadelyn missed the look of sadness that crossed her face, upset that old Jadelyn was back, her shell once more firmly in place. Jadelyn strode over to Sinjin and kicked him awake. "Get up, Mr Van Cleef. Take me to your leader." Sinjin grumbled, but picked himself up, still half asleep, and very soon they were all ready to go.

_2 hours of stumbling through the jungle later…_

Beckett and Andre slashed angrily at the undergrowth with their cutlasses. "Hey, Burf," Beckett called, "How far away are we?"

Before Burf could reply, however, they were surrounded by figures dressed in much the same way as Burf and Sinjin, clad in green and black war paint and baggy tunics. Both groups stood and stared at each other for a minute, before the islanders parted and a figure walked slowly and majestically out of the trees.

He was holding half a coconut in one hand, sipping its milk through a hollow reed and gazing thoughtfully at the newcomers. He was dressed in a garish assortment of rags, and wore no shoes. Around his neck were several long chains of beads.

He slowly drew the reed out of his mouth, and in the tense silence, everyone waited with baited breath for him to speak.

"Good morning children!" he yelled happily. "Isn't this wonderful?" He took a long drought of his coconut milk, smacking his lips. "Now, where shall we begin?"


	11. Chapter 11

AN: I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long, I've just been really busy with school. Switching to English three months into the course doesn't leave much room for writing, I'm afraid. Thankfully, it is the holidays now, so I can relax and try and update a little quicker. Thanks for sticking with this.

Chapter 11 – The Plan.

After meeting and introducing themselves to Sikowitz and his band of raggedy outcasts in the rainforest, Jadelyn, Tori, Beckett, Andre and Cat had been courteously escorted to a small, bustling village. It was noisy, and colourful, the dwellings were little huts made from sticks and animal hide, little more than glorified tents, Jadelyn thought.

People had stopped what they were doing to gawk at them as they walked past, children, scared at first but quickly gaining confidence, broke away from their parents to run behind the procession, which was headed towards a much larger hut, probably some sort of council chamber.

Inside they had been seated around a low table on plush cushions. Jadelyn had taken a moment to appreciate the décor, eyes roving over the colourful hangings draping the walls. Sikowitz sat with them, motioning to two servers to bring them large platters of fruit and a wine that Jadelyn had never seen before, but had a delightfully full, fruity taste.

Sikowitz motioned them to eat, watching them closely as he sipped thoughtfully at his coconut. When they had eaten their fill, they sat sipping the wine, waiting for Sikowitz to speak. Finally, he placed his coconut on the table.

"So, what brings you young travellers to my island?"

Jadelyn took it upon herself to be spokesperson for the group. "We were chasing a man. A dangerous man, and we had some, ah, misfortunes along the way. My ship was attacked by the Spanish. We escaped, but a big storm overturned us and we ended up here."

Sikowitz nodded slowly. "I see. This man you were chasing. What did he do?"

Jadelyns lips thinned. "He stole a map."

"A map?"

"A map he believes will lead him to something called the Sirens Gold."

Sikowitz nodded again. "I see."

They looked at him expectantly, as his brow furrowed. "Okay, I don't see. It has been a great many years since I came to this island, but I'm fairly certain, and I may be wrong, but I thought that the Sirens Gold was just a legend?"

Jadelyn shook her head. "You're not wrong sir, it is just a legend. But Ryder believes it, and is hell-bent on finding it."

Sikowitz picked up his coconut, realised it was empty, and put it back down again. "So you want to find this, 'Ryder'. To stop him, or to get the map back?"

"Both."

He leaned his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together and resting his head on them. "I'm sensing some animosity between you and this Ryder."

Jadelyn gritted her teeth. "Yeah, we have a history."

Something in her tone told Sikowitz not to pry. Instead, he turned to the rest of the group. "I'm going to assume, then, that you will not be wanting to dilly-dally on this island any longer?"

They nodded. "In that case, we must come up with a plan." Grinning, he bounced up from his seat, motioning for everyone to get up with him. "Follow me!"

_Later that same day._

Tori stood at the top of a cliff, perspiration dripping off her brow, gazing down at the angry waves smashing against the cliff face far below her.

After a three hour climb through some particularly thick jungle undergrowth, she was happy just to let the sea breeze blow coolly against her sweat-soaked face.

She heard someone behind her, and turned to see Cat, red hair blowing in the wind. The smaller woman stood unusually quietly beside her, gazing out over the ocean. Behind them, Jadelyn, Beckett, Andre and Sikowitz were eagerly discussing the plan they had concocted on the way, and Sinjin and Burf were hauling dry brush from the edge of the rainforest, piling it up a little to Tori's left.

Cat spoke up suddenly. "Do you think it will work?"

Tori, still gazing down at the waves, replied absently, "Do I think what will work?"

"The plan."

Tori shrugged. "I'm not sure. Seems a bit crazy to me. Mind you, I'm not the brave, swash-buckling type, like you all are. This is probably something you do on a daily basis."

Cat grinned. "Oh, not as often as that. I'd say it's more on a weekly basis."

That coaxed a small grin out of Tori. Cat put her arm around the other woman's shoulders. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Tori sighed, gazing out across the waves. She was about to speak when Jadelyn came up behind them. "What are you two old fish-wives nattering about?" Her face was flushed with excitement. "Come on, we haven't got all day! Cat, can you go and help Beckett? He and Sikowitz are working out the finer details of the plan, and they could use your, er, expertise."

The red head nodded and trotted off. Tori turned to Jadelyn. "What do you need me to do, Captain? Or do I just stand here, looking pretty?" Jadelyn missed the annoyance in her voice. "You could do that, if you wanted, you do it very well." She looked the younger woman over. "From certain angles, at least."

Tori started to protest, but Jadelyn cut her off. "Anyway, no. I have another job for you. Sikowitz says there is a little fishing vessel, kept in a hidden cove at the base of this cliff. Presumably, they use it to catch fish whenever they get bored of fruit." She grabbed Tori's wrist, pulling her over to a set of previously unnoticed stone steps carved into the cliff face.

Tori groaned, "Please, Jade, do not tell me we are going all the way down there."

The captain placed her hands on the small of Tori's back, pushing lightly. "Well, unless you want to fly…"

Tori glanced over the edge of the cliff, shuddering. "I'll walk, thanks."

Jadelyn grinned, her hands lingering slightly on Tori's back. "Knew you'd see it my way Vega. Come on." Together they started the long descent to the bottom of the cliff.

AN: Just a side note, and I may be being ever so slightly biased here, but did anyone else think TFB&J was the most shoddily written episode ever written? I feel rather disappointed in Mr Schneider. It was less 'cute' and more 'blink and you miss it.' I don't know, maybe it was just me naively expecting Jori.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Working On The Boat.

Tori and Jadelyn collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the cliff, panting and splashing cold salt water on their faces. After a while, Tori hauled herself into a sitting position, propping herself up on one elbow. "I never knew walking down stairs could be so hard" she gasped. Jadelyn just let out a wordless groan.

From her position on the floor, Tori glanced around the cave they were in. Roughly hewn from the dark grey rock by the wild waves centuries ago. There was a deep pool of saltwater at the centre of the cavern, a ramshackle driftwood dock at one end, moored at which was a sturdy wooden row boat.

She and Jadelyn were lying at the edge of the cave mouth, a few lonely rays of sunlight filtering in and bouncing off the rippling water, playing on the low ceiling, revealing hardy green fern fronds clinging to life. Water dripped constantly from the cracks, into the pool and onto the shale and seashells that made up the floor.

Feeling sufficiently recovered from the arduous descent, she stood up. Stumbling slightly, she wandered over to Jadelyn. She tugged at the arm the pirate captain had draped over her face. "Come on Jade, get up, you can't lie here all day."

Jadelyn grunted and rolled over onto her side, her back facing Tori, and mumbled into the shale "I can if I bloody well want to."

Tori sighed. "What about your plan?"

"Sod the plan."

"So you just want to stay on this island forever then, drinking coconut milk and eating fruit for the rest of your life?"

Silence. "…No."

"Well get up then."

Growling, Jadelyn pulled herself to her feet slowly, glaring at Tori. "I would have gotten up eventually."

Tori smirked. "Of course you would. Now, what do we need to do with this boat?"

Jadelyn tucked her dark hair behind her ears, and strode over to the rickety driftwood dock. It wobbled slightly, but in two quick strides she was across it and leaping into the row boat moored to it. Tori watched from the safety of the cave floor as Jadelyn began pulling bits of sodden rope and fishing nets from the bottom of the boat. She grimaced in disgust, muttering to herself. "Do these island people never bother to bail out the water from their boat when their done hauling fish home?"

She turned to Tori. "Hey, Vega, find me something to scoop out all the manky bilge water from the bottom of this boat will you?"

"Where do you expect me to find something like that in a cave?"

Jadelyn shrugged. "I don't know, use your imagination."

Tori sighed, knowing it was useless to argue with the pirate when boats were concerned. Glancing around the cavern, she spotted a large, beautiful scallop shell half buried in the shale. It was a pale pink colour at the top, fading to a peachy hue as it fanned out. She picked it up, brushing bits of wet sand off it, before venturing across the dock to hand it to Jadelyn.

The pirate grabbed it, "It's too shallow."

"Well it's the only thing I could find."

Jadelyn grumbled. "Fine, it'll have to do."

She began savagely scooping the dirty saltwater that lay at the bottom of the little boat.

"Hey, Jade, be careful with that."

"Why?"

"It's pretty, you don't just destroy beautiful things."

"I do."

"Well, you shouldn't."

"Fine, I'll try not to break it."

"Thank you."

Tori sat at the edge of the dock, taking her boots off and dangling her feet into the refreshing water below.

For a while, she just sat and watched Jadelyn rhythmically bailing the water. She had removed her waistcoat, leaving it bundled up on the dockside, and was dressed only in her baggy white shirt, the top few buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and her black leggings pulled up to her knees. She had dispensed of her boots along with her waist coat, in order to keep them dry as she waded around barefoot.

Tori's eyes roved over Jadelyn's strong arms, biceps bulging and relaxing as she worked, along her back, alternately bending and straightening, and even further…

"Tori, you're staring."

The young women shook herself, tearing her eyes away hastily and blushing. "What? No, no I wasn't." She gazed around the cavern once more, anywhere but at Jadelyn. "I was just looking at… at that plant over there, and you got in my way."

Jadelyn stopped bailing and straightened up. "My apologies, Vega. I didn't realise I was in your way."

Tori coughed and fiddled with a strand of her hair, suddenly feeling hot. "It… it, er, doesn't matter." She felt a rapid change of subject was in order. "Do you, umm, need any help at all?"

Jadelyn tossed the scallop shell to the stuttering barmaid, climbing out of the small boat and onto the wobbly dock. "Nah, I think we're pretty much done here." She glanced out of the cave mouth at the setting sun, pulling on her boots and waistcoat. "Sinjin will light the signal fire when it gets dark, then we'll just have to wait until morning to see if it works."

"So, what do we do until morning?"

Jadelyn picked up the small bag she had brought with her and left at the dockside with her boots and waistcoat, pulling out a tiny loaf of bread, some apples, and kindling for a fire.

"We eat, get some rest. If this works, we'll have a long day ahead of us."


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Oh, look, two chapters, aren't I nice. Props to anyone who knows which scene I sort of nabbed from Xena: Warrior Princess in this chapter. (If you don't know what Xena is, go watch it. It's like ancient Greek Rizzles in how obviously Xena and Gabrielle are married to each other.) As always, thanks for reading.

Chapter 13 – A Way Off The Island

Morning sunlight filtered through the cave mouth, lighting the dying embers of a small fire, stealing over crusts and apple cores, and finally alighting on the two figures lying asleep next to each other on the shale. Tori's head rested on Jadelyn's shoulder, her arm draped lightly over her stomach, their chests rising and falling in quiet unison.

Jadelyn was the first to wake, the sunlight warming her face as she lazily blinked open her eyes. She felt a weight around her waist. Seeing the still sleeping Tori snuggled into her, she sighed. Reaching with her free arm she prodded the younger womans' shoulder.

"Tori, wake up."

Tori mumbled something, and rolled over, freeing Jadelyn, who got up. Leaning down, she shook Tori. "Vega. Up, now!"

Just then, she heard a scrabbling sound from the stair way dug into the cliff face. Warily, she drew her cutlass, and stalked towards the sound. It grew louder. Holding her breath, Jadelyn raised her cutlass, ready to strike. The scuffling stopped. Over the sound of the waves, Jadelyn heard. "Jadey, put your cutlass away, it's me."

Jadelyn had just enough time to sheath her sword before Cat, her red hear flying, launched herself through the cave mouth and bounced happily straight into Jadelyn. "Woah Cat, calm down."

"Wake up Jadey! It worked, the plan worked!" She shoved what looked like a bundle of brightly coloured rags into the bemused pirates arms, bounding towards the still sleeping Tori.

"Tori, get up! It worked! We're getting off the island!"

Tori shot upright. "What, what's going on, are we under attack?"

Cat giggled. "No, silly. Jadey's plan worked. Well, the first part anyway."

Jadelyn approached from behind Cat. "And now we have to work on the second part." She dangled some brightly coloured silk clothes from her hand as if they were something distasteful. "Who's going to wear these then?"

_Later_

Tori sat on a rock at the edge of the pool, sulking. Behind her, Cat and Jadelyn were arguing over the finer details of the plan.

"Cat, are you sure it's the same ship?"

"Positive Jadey. A Spanish three - master, slight damage due to canon fire. It's her."

"Okay, well, now we can kill two birds with one stone. We can get out of here, and we can rescue whatever crew is left from _The Shearwater._ And I can get my revenge."

From her rock, Tori butted in to the conversation. "Well, this all sounds wonderful, but how about you let me in on the plan too?" She plucked at the garish silk clothes she had reluctantly swapped her shirt and leggings for. "You know, since I appear to have a part in it."

Cat hung her head guiltily. "Sorry, Tori, I forgot. The first part of the plan was to set a signal fire up on the cliff and attract a ship. Turns out, the schooner that destroyed ours was in the area, and is anchored half a mile off the coast."

"What's my part in all of this?" Tori asked. She indicated the skimpy top and flowing sarong tied around her waist. "Why am I wearing these?"

Cat pouted. "I was getting to that. We need a distraction. And seeing as you are the only barmaid amongst us, we figured you would perfect."

"And you didn't think that it would be a good idea to run this past me first?"

Both Jadelyn and Cat looked guilty. "We're really sorry Tori, we were just so caught up in escaping, we didn't think."

Seeing the looks on their face, Tori mellowed slightly. "Okay, I'll do it, whatever 'it' is. But I'm still mad at you!" She glared at them. "What is it you need a barmaid for anyway?"

…

Captain Alberto Lorenzo was a short man, with a short temper. He stood on a box at the bridge of his ship, his one eye glaring haughtily at his crew members as they worked. His dirty face twisted into a grimace as he caught sight of the prisoners, chained around each of the three masts. He had tried putting them to work on his ship, but they were British, stubborn, and refused to serve under him. So, he had chained them to the mast, and was content to wait them out. They would join his crew soon. Or die. It didn't matter to him which.

Jumping down off his box, he pushed open his cabin door, and decided to count his treasure. That always made him smile.

…

Out on deck, one of the crew, a man with a scar on his face and only three remaining teeth spotted the small rowing boat being paddled towards the ship. It contained a bundle of fishing nets, and a very pretty, very scantily clad young woman. Pointing it out to his crew mates, they excitedly awaited its arrival.

…

Tori tried to keep the sultry smile on her face, but it threatened to slip into a grimace as she saw what she was up against. Whispering out of the side of her mouth to the netting behind her, she pulled steadily on the oars. "Jade, Beckett, is it too late to change my mind?"

"Just a little."

They had reached the side of the schooner now. "Oh well. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, try not to get killed before we can rescue you."

Tori shuddered at the thought, let go of the oars, and began climbing up the rope ladder that was thrown down from the deck for her.

….

"Well hello there, bonita, what brings you out here?"

Tori straightened her top, which was staring to slip. "Well good sirs, you see, I live on that island over there. But it's horrible, the men are all so _boring_." She pouted, internally retching at the sight and smell of so many dirty old pirates. "I wanted to escape."

The pirates all nodded sympathetically. "So I set that fire, up on the cliff, and waited. As soon as I saw your ship, I rowed out, knowing that whatever was out here was so much better than back there." She reached out to stroke the side of the scarred sailors face, her voice and gaze turning sultry. "Maybe here I can find some _real men._"

They all nodded, breaking out into guffaws and rowdy yells.

"Sure, there's plenty of real men here, chica," said the nearest sailor. "Mi amigos and I will prove it." He leered at her.

Tori grimaced, wondering where on earth Beckett and Jadelyn were. A young pirate brought out some sort of stringed instrument, and began playing a lively tune. A tankard of rum was thrust into Tori's hand, and the group of pirates stared expectantly at her.

She grumbled, "I did not sign up for this", took a swig of her rum, and began dancing with the scarred pirate and his 'amigos'.

…

On the opposite side of the ship, Beckett and Jadelyn hauled themselves over the rail, arguing in subdued voices.

"Beckett, it's not my fault the oar broke."

"It doesn't matter who's fault it is, Tori is stuck out there on deck, waiting to be rescued from those filthy pirates, and we're drifting about on the other side of the boat!"

"Well leys not leave her there any longer then!"

They crept over to the bridge, unsheathing their cutlasses.

"Well, looks like she's doing fine without us."

Tori, imbued with the rum, was having a surprisingly great time. Loud laughter rang out as she danced round a pirate, hips swaying to the music. He reached out and grasped her round the waist, murmuring something in Spanish, no doubt something dirty, in her ear. She smiled, and brought her knee up to connect heavily with his crotch.

Cheers filed the boat as the pirate collapsed on the deck, and Tori bowed and smirked. She glanced up and saw Jadelyn standing on the bridge, cutlass drawn. Jadelyn, her eyes glued to Tori's hips, snapped out of her reverie, and called out to the pirates below.

"Hey boys, I want in on the fun too."

Sensing the malice in her tone, they dropped their rum and drew their swords, starting up the steps towards a grinning Jadelyn. Sheathing her cutlass, she bounded down the stairs, bulldozing into two sailors, knocking them backwards into their crew mates.

"Come on, I just took two of you out without swinging my sword. You guys are rubbish pirates!"

The scarred pirated snarled, levelling his blade and charging with a strangled war cry at Jadelyn. She smiled, ducked down on one knee, and used the sailors' momentum to catch him in the crotch with her shoulder, lever him up and send him hurtling over the side of the boat.

"That's more like it! Give it some heart!"

The rest of the crew charged her, and she finally drew her blade. Steel clashed with steel as she rained expert blows down on the pirates.

During the commotion, Tori ran to the masts, picking the lock on the chains easily, and freeing the crew of _The Shearwater_. Yelling, they eagerly joined in the fight.

Suddenly, a high pitched screech filled the air.

"STOP!"

The fight around Jadelyn stopped immediately. She disarmed the man she had been fighting, and turned to see where the noise had come from.

Beckett stood on the bridge, holding a very small and angry jewel-bedecked pirate by the waist. Alberto Lorenzo was struggling in Becketts' grasp, screaming out at his men. "Stop fighting, or he'll kill me. Drop your weapons!"

Slowly, the crew dropped their weapons to the ground. Jadelyn rested her cutlass on her shoulder, grasping hold of Tori's hand and pulling her up to the bridge.

"We're taking over this ship now. All of you, over the side before I kill your captain." She rested the blade of her cutlass against Alberto Lorenzo's neck. Reluctantly, the pirates crammed into the longboats and dropped into the water below.

"Row in the opposite direction to that island. If any of you attempt to go there, the savages there are under strict instructions to kill you on sight."

She grabbed the pirate captain by the neck of his extravagant coat. "And you, I should gut you now, you spineless coward. You destroyed my ship, captured my crew, and left my friends and I to die. But I won't kill you." She threw him over the side of the ship and into the water. "I'll just let the sharks get you!"

Screeching in terror, he flailed about in the water, before being pulled into one of the long boats. "Go, get out of here you fools!"

Jadelyn, Beckett and Tori stood laughing heartily as they rowed off into the distance.

Jadelyn sighed. "I'm getting soft. I should have killed him for what he did."

Tori rubbed her arm affectionately. "You did the right thing. He's probably too scared to even think about piracy again now."

"Maybe you're right." She turned to survey her crew, being ordered about by Beckett as they headed back towards Sikowitz's island. "Now all we have to do is stop Ryder, get your sister, and get back home."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Sword Play

It took them about two months to reach Brazil. After a week or so spent draped forlornly over the side of the boat, Tori had grown used to all the tossing and the turning, glad to have finally found her sea legs.

Despite having rescued the captured crewmen of _The Shearwater_, the new ship was running on a skeleton crew. Tori, confidence boosted by her role in the capture of the schooner, visited Jadelyn in her cabin one evening.

_Jadelyn, plotting their course on the several maps spread out over her table, heard a quiet knock on her door. _

"_Come in."_

_Tori eased the door open, closing it behind her and taking a seat opposite Jadelyn. The pirate captain placed her compasses on the desk and folded her arm, facing the other woman._

"_Can I help you?"_

_Tori tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "It's more a case of can I help you, really."_

_Jadelyn cocked an eyebrow. "Really? How so?"_

"_We've been running on a skeleton crew for a week now, so we're not exactly getting anywhere quickly."_

_Jadelyn interrupted her, indicated her maps. "You think I don't know this? But there's nothing any of us can do about it, certainly not you, until we reach Brazil."_

_Tori sighed irritably. "Hear me out. I can help. An extra pair of hands could make all the difference. Please Jade, I can't bear just sitting in my cabin doing nothing, whilst Ryder and Trina get further and further away. We've already wasted too much time on Sikowitz's island. Let me help."_

_Jadelyn picked up her compasses, fiddling with them. "You're right that we could use an extra pair of hands. But you don't know anything about sailing a boat. You've only just got over your seasickness, you're practically useless."_

_Tori frowned. "Gee, thanks Jadelyn." She got up to leave. "If that's what you think, I'd better just go sit in my cabin, being useless. Sorry for wasting your precious time."_

"_Tori wait." _

_The younger woman paused, hand on the door. _

"_Yes, captain?"_

"_Perhaps you should let me finish, before you storm off. I was going to say, your lack of ability can easily be remedied with training."_

_Tori's face lit up in a huge grin. "You'll let me help?"_

"_I said we needed the extra hands, didn't I?" _

_She began pouring over her maps again._

"_Report for duty out on deck tomorrow at sunrise. Now go, get some sleep."_

_Tori saluted, still grinning. "Aye Aye, captain!" Backing out of the cabin, she headed back to her quarters, whistling jauntily._

And so, with training, Tori proved to be an excellent crew member. She easily became a favourite with the crew after they discovered she could drink their best under the table, and then some. She self-consciously attributed this to her previous life as a barmaid, but did not protest when she was affectionately nick-named "Tori Iron-Liver."

In those first few weeks, she could often be seen swabbing the decks with her new crew mates. She easily learned the lyrics to their vulgar, yet jaunty, ditties, and her fine clear voice could be heard carrying over the ocean on the wind.

At first, Beckett, assuming his role as a posh admiral, had reprimanded the crew for "teaching such foul language to a lady", but Tori, and surprisingly Jadelyn, had protested.

"Let the woman sing if she wants to Beckett. She probably heard much worse at that tavern of hers."

"That's true Beckett. Besides, I like these songs."

"I still don't think-"

"She likes the songs, Admiral. I myself am perfectly fine letting her decide if she wants to sing them or not. And bear in mind, this is my ship, not yours."

Beckett looked as if he was about to protest further, than gave up and stalked back to his cabin.

Jadelyn smirked, turning on her heel and heading back to her quarters, satisfied that she had won the argument. Truthfully, she rather enjoyed the young barmaids singing.

Over course of the next month, Tori the Barmaid became Tori the Pirate, leaving behind the menial task of swabbing the deck, and climbing high in the rigging with the more experienced sailors, learning to furl and unfurl the great sails. She even spent a night on lookout duty, high up in the crow's nest atop the swaying mainmast.

She had at first been wary of the heights. On her first trip up the rigging, despite Andre's "Whatever you do, don't look down", she had dropped her gaze for just a second, and had become so paralysed with fear it had taken Jadelyn climbing up to reassure her that if she didn't move she would kick her down to the deck herself to get her moving again.

But Tori was a girl who liked to challenge herself, to be the best she could, and, in time, she had gotten over her fear of heights, and was soon scrambling about in the rigging, far above the tiny swaying deck and ant-like sailors like a veritable monkey.

The crew taught her many things, climbing, card games, how to throw a small knife and pierce an apple thirty paces away, but no one thought to teach her to wield a sword.

In the end, she once again approached Jadelyn. At first, the captain refused to teach her to fight, saying she didn't need to learn. She relented when Tori brought up the sinking of _The Shearwater_.

"Remember how scared I was, Jadelyn? You had to rescue me. I don't want it to be like that. What if I get attacked when we catch up with Ryder, and can't defend myself?"

So, one morning, a week or so before they reached Brazil, the crew crowded in a circle around the two women to watch their captain give a lesson.

Removing her waistcoat, she tossed a spare cutlass to Tori, motioning for the crew to create a bit of space around them.

"Alright Vega, here are two tips. One, keep your blade tip up, and two, use your feet. The second I know you can do, I've seen you dancing. The first, not so sure." She grinned, twirling her own cutlass expertly. "Alright, here we go."

"Wait, you're just going to fight me now? I thought you were going to teach me some moves first."

Jadelyn shrugged. "Nah, I prefer teaching by way of practical." And she swung her sword at Tori.

The younger woman shrieked, and brought her cutlass up to parry the blow. There was a clang as Jadelyn's sword bounced of Tori's, who cried out, dropping her cutlass and wringing her hands.

"That hurt!"

"What, the vibrations? Better get used to it if you want to learn how to fight, Vega."

Scowling, Tori picked up her sword. Suddenly, she lunged forward. Jadelyn leapt easily out of the way, Tori careering past her, and rapped the younger woman smartly on the behind with the flat of her blade.

"Too obvious, Vega. Don't go for the easy hit."

Tori wiped her hand across her sweaty forehead. "How are you so good at this?"

"I've been doing it for years. Now, come on, sword point up."

Tori swung from her shoulder, and Jadelyn brought her blade up to block her.

"Better!"

Stepping forward she lunged at Tori, using the tip of her blade to slice off one of her shirt buttons. "Come on Vega, parry."

She lunged again, and this time Tori managed to block her, straight away moving forwards to strike at Jadelyn. The pirate swiped her blade away easily, smiling. "Well done, always keep up the attack if you have the advantage."

Lifting her cutlass above her head, she swung downwards, but Tori skipped out of the way, spinning and swinging at Jadelyn, who had to turn and hastily block the blow.

"Excellent! You very nearly almost had me then."

Tori grinned. "Use your feet. Sword fighting is almost like a dance!"

And to the onlooker, it almost was a dance. The two women exchanged blows, all the while moving around each other, quickly, slowly, it was like combative tango they had choreographed long ago, still able to subconsciously remember the steps.

It was clear Tori was a natural, her swings becoming stronger, her parries quicker, their blades weaving in and out of each other, flashing in the morning sunlight.

Both women clashed their blades together, eyes locking over the crossed steel. For a moment they just gazed at each other, then Jadelyn twisted her cutlass, sending her opponents sword clattering to the deck.

The two women were breathing heavily, the crew cheering behind them. Jadelyn slowly lowered her cutlass, her blue eyes still lost in Tori's brown ones. Then she blinked, turning away and bowing to her crew.

"And that, ladies and gents, is how to win a duel!"

Her crew cheering her, she used her cutlass to hook the hilt of Tori's, lifting it and giving it back to her.

"Keep it, you earned it."

The younger woman grinned, taking the blade and shoving it into the sash around her waist, accidentally severing it and sending the cutlass clanking to the deck once again. Tori blushed and Jadelyn laughed heartily.

"We might want to get you a scabbard for it though."


	15. Chapter 15

AN: I apologise profusely in advance for my shocking attempts at Spanish. It's probably a good thing I gave it up after GCSE… Anyhow, enjoy.

Chapter 15 – Where's Ryder?

They docked at the bustling port of Delmarola just two months after leaving Sikowitz's island. Leaving her men to take care of the ship, with Andre to supervise, Jadelyn left to find the harbour master. She ducked through crowds of drunken sailors, dodging fishermen bringing their catch ashore, until she reached the dingy little office of the harbour master.

It was a tiny building, built of driftwood bleached by the sun. She pushed lightly at the half closed door, holding her breath as it creaked open, hoping it didn't fall off its rusty hinges. Inside it was musty and dark. Dust motes swirled and danced in the shaft of sunlight streaming through the open door.

Stepping inside, Jadelyn saw an old desk piled high with papers, ledgers, books. An old man was asleep in the chair behind the desk; feet up on the table, head tipped back, the occasional snore reverberating from the back of his throat.

Jadelyn scowled, glancing around the office to see if there was anything she could use. Behind her, the sunlight was blocked by a shadow. She drew her cutlass and whirled round, almost relieving the young man in the doorway of his eye.

"¿Quién eres?"

She sheathed her sword, looking perplexed.

"What?"

The young man stepped inside the office, folding his arms. He was tall, well built, handsome.

"¿Qué estás haciendo aquí? ¿Necesita algo?"

"Damn", she muttered to herself. "He's Spanish. Knew I should have learned to speak the bloody language when I had the chance."

To the man she said. "Err, sÍ?"

He grunted, nodding and walking around her, beckoning for her to follow. Leading her to a large bookshelf built up against the wall, he asked "¿Qué necesitas?"

Shaking her head, she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you're saying."

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Wait here, I'll be back."

She dashed out of the office, leaving you young Spaniard standing by the bookshelf looking confused.

_Aboard ship_.

Jadelyn ran up the gangplank and leapt onto the deck. Spotting Andre nearby, she waved him over.

"Where's Tori?"

"She's helping load some supplies, why?"

"I need her."

Andre shrugged, long since having discovered not to question his captain's actions, and pointed to where Tori and a few other crew members were unloading a wheelbarrow of sailcloth onto the deck.

"Vega!"

Tori turned from her task at the sound of Jadelyn's voice.

"Yes, captain?"

"You speak Spanish, right?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

Jadelyn inwardly berated herself for her words, mind flashing back to a week before.

_She couldn't sleep. She knew that in a week they would reach Brazil, they might finally catch up with Ryder, or at least find some idea of what he was doing there. She rolled over. The nights aboard ship were too long. Too much thinking, not enough doing._

_It was too hot in her cabin, yet even lying in only her shirt she was still uncomfortable. Grunting, she sat up, pulling on her leggings and boots, and headed outside for some fresh air. She wandered to the bow of the ship, sighing happily at the breeze cooling her face. _

_Behind her, she heard singing. It wasn't the usual crass vocals of the crew, but a softer, feminine voice. She recognised it immediately as Tori, having heard the woman sing many times. But never this song. She leaned against the rail, closing her eyes and letting the lullaby drift over her. She couldn't pick out the words, they were in Spanish, a language foreign to her, but she listened anyway._

_She didn't know how long she had been standing there, when the singing finally stopped. She blinked open her eyes, and headed back to her cabin. She slept peacefully that night._

"I, umm, your - your surname. It's Vega. That's Spanish, right?"

Tori folded her arms.

"Yes."

"Right, well, I need you. To speak to some Spanish guy." She turned around, not wanting Tori to see her as flustered as she was. "Come on, haven't got all day."

…

They walked together towards the harbour masters' office in silence. Once they reached it, Jadelyn held open the door for Tori, motioning her inside. The old man was still asleep in the chair, the younger one leaning against the desk, flicking through a ledger. He looked up as the two women entered.

"Has vuelto."

Jadelyn nudged Tori. "I don't really know what he's saying. Can you translate or something for me?"

The latina nodded.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Ask him if Ryder Daniels is docked here."

Tori nodded, turning to the young Spaniard.

"¿Hay alguien llamado Ryder Daniels aquí?"

He shrugged, flipping back a few pages in the ledger he was holding.

"No… - esperar." He suddenly stopped at a page, showing it to Tori. It was filled with neat handwriting in black ink. It looked like a long list of dates and names. Jadelyn saw the name Ryder Daniels, the word "salido" written next to it.

She pushed past Tori, pointing to Ryder's name.

"There! Tori, what does _salido_ mean?"

Tori sighed unhappily. "It means departed, Jade. He's gone."

Jadelyn cried out in frustration. "Shit!"

Turning to the man, she grabbed the book, waving it in his face.

"When did he leave? Tell me!"

He gulped.

"No se sabe muy bien..."

She grabbed his shirt collar, shaking him. "Tell me!" she yelled, again.

Terrified, he squeaked "Hace tres días, TRES DÍAS!"

"Jadelyn!" Tori shouted from behind her. "Stop it, you're hurting him. He left three days ago. He's gone."

Jadelyn ceased shaking the petrified Spaniard, panting, but didn't let go of his shirt collar until Tori gently grasped her elbow, pulling her away.

"He's gone." She turned to the other woman, looking almost distressed. "Tori, what do we do now? What if we can't find him?"

Somewhat thrown off by Jadelyn's startling vulnerability, Tori paused, blinking, before regaining herself and putting one arm gingerly around the pirate captain's shoulders. She stiffened slightly at her touch, but didn't throw her off.

"We find out as much as we can, Jadelyn. Don't worry, I'm not giving up yet."

Turning to the young man, who had calmed down, and was gazing at the two women, slightly perplexed, she said

"¿Sabe usted dónde se dirigía? _Do you know where he was going?_

He stroked his chin in thought, before"No, pero conozco a alguien que podría" _No, but I know of someone who might._

She smiled at him, turning to Jadelyn.

"Jade, he knows someone who can tell us where Ryder went."

Jadelyn, having regained her composure, straightened up, shrugging out from underneath Tori's arm. "Good. Get him to take us there."

"¿Puedes llevarnos allí?"

He nodded. "SÍ."

He headed out of the door, beckoning them to follow. Jadelyn strode behind him, silently fuming at herself for how she had acted. Tori followed, hurrying to fall into step beside the captain.

"Jade, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Vega."

"Oh, okay, it's just-"

Jadelyn stopped, whirling around to face the other woman.

"'It's just' nothing, Vega. I was angry that Ryder got away, that's all. So stop poking your nose where it's not wanted, okay?"

Hurt, Tori backed away.

"I'm sorry, Jade, I was just a bit worried."

"Well don't be." She turned on her heel and strode after the rapidly vanishing Spaniard.

"Hurry up, or we'll lose him."

Tori shook her head, trotting after her, more than a little hurt and confused by Jadelyn's sudden, shocking mood swings.

"Just when you think you might be getting through to her…" she muttered top herself.

"Got something to say, Vega?"

"Nope."

"Well hurry up, I need to find Ryder Daniels. Before it's too late."

AN: Oh look, a vague attempt at angst. Looks like you get angst when I'm in a bad mood. But don't fret, Jori will prevail.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: *Sigh* I'm going to miss Victorious. It was an awesome, if slightly insane, show. At least we still have Fanfiction.

Chapter 16 - Coffee.

Their guide led them along the docks to the edge of the port, stopping outside a dingy tavern, very much reminiscent of The Captains Sea Boot. Pushing open the door, the young Spaniard entered, followed by Jadelyn and Tori. He led them to a small round table, tucked into a dark corner. Sat at the table was a lean, wiry old man. "His name's Miguel."

He had a thick grey beard, his long hair tied in a ponytail which hung down his back. There was a long scar on his cheek, white against his tanned skin. And he was very obviously drunk.

Taking a seat opposite the man, the Spaniard - whose name, Tori had gathered, was Diego – motioned for Jadelyn and Tori to sit. Gazing glassily at them over his half-drunk tankard of rum, the old man said something in Spanish.

Tori helpfully translated. "He wants to know why we're bothering him."

"Tell him Useless over here," she gestured to Diego, "doesn't know where Ryder is, but says he can help."

Tori turned and addressed Miguel "¿Puede ayudarnos a encontrar a un hombre?" _Can you help us find a man?_

He leered at her "¿Un hombre?" and lurched forwards suddenly, roughly cupping her face with one  
hand, the other darting towards her chest. Tori shrieked, trying to pull away. Jadelyn, swift as lighting, pulled out a small dagger she had concealed in her boot and grabbed the wandering hand, twisted, pulled, stepped smartly around behind the man, and in one smooth move had his arm pinned behind his back, her dagger at his throat.

She growled angrily in his ear, not caring that he probably couldn't understand her "Touch her again, and you'll be hobbling round for the rest of your miserable life with no hands to try to violate pretty young women with at all." Disgusted, she spat on the floor, shoving him so his head smacked against the table top.

"You okay?" she asked Tori. The younger woman blushed, slightly flustered, and nodded. Seeing Jadelyn suddenly get all protective over her had been a rather pleasant shock.

Placing her dagger on the table, Jadelyn sat back down, turning to Diego. "Do something useful, and get us something to drink." She motioned to the drunk old man, who was rubbing his head and muttering something. "And get something to clear his head."

Tori translated and Diego nodded, getting up and heading to the bar. Jadelyn put her hand briefly on Tori's shoulder. "Go with him, I want to talk to this piece of scum alone."

"But you barely speak any Spanish."

Jadelyn fingered her dagger blade. "I'll manage." Tori shrugged helplessly and turned to find Diego.

Dragging her chair around the table so she was right next to the old man, Jadelyn murmured "I heard you just then. You were speaking English." He nodded. "Yes." His voice was heavily accented. Still rubbing his head, he slurred. "I'm sorry about her." He gestured to Tori, who was sipping delightedly at a cup of something Diego had handed her. "I didn't realise she was taken."

Jadelyns' grip tightened on her dagger. "She's not. Diego's some guy we just met."

"You must be mistaken. I did not mean by him"

"What?" Her eyes widened. "No no, I … we … we're not-" Her babbling was cut off by the return of Diego and Tori, both toting mugs of a dark brown, gently steaming liquid. Jadelyn inhaled the bitter yet delightfully aromatic scent, her mouth immediately beginning to water.

"Ah," Miguel piped up beside her, accepting his mug from Diego. "Coffee." He grinned, taking a sip.

Jadelyn glanced warily at the cup Tori placed in front of her. "What is this?"

"It's called coffee," Tori said excitedly. "Diego say's they make it from beans. It tastes absolutely wonderful."

Jadelyn shrugged. "If you say so." She murmured before carefully sipping the steaming liquid. She let out a groan of pleasure as the drink hit her taste buds, before gulping, the coffee trailing delicious fire straight to the pit of her stomach. "Uhh, this tastes amazing." Closing her eyes she took a big gulp, sighing happily. "Why have I never heard of this before?"

Beside her, Miguel said "Probably because it's fairly new even here."

At the sound of his voice, Jadelyn came down off her high slightly. She remembered why they were here in the first place. Reluctantly putting her cup back on the table, she turned to Miguel. "Much as I am loving this coffee," she glanced at it mournfully "I need to ask you something."

"I'm listening."

"I'm looking for a man." She grasped the hilt of her dagger in warning. "A man named Ryder Daniels." A spark of recognition crossed his face.

"I know this man. He docked here a few weeks ago, came looking for some information. He headed back to the Caribbean about three days ago."

"What information was he looking for?"

Miguel scratched his head. "Something about, I think, the Sirens Gold?"

Jadelyn nodded. "Sounds about right. Did he get the information?"

"Oh, yes. I overheard some old guy at the bar tell him the location."

"Well, where is it? Where was he headed?"  
He shrugged. "I don't know, all he said was some riddle."

Jadelyn slumped in her seat. "Great. All we know is, he's somewhere in the Caribbean."

Miguel saw her morose expression, and said "I can remember the riddle."

She perked up slightly. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes." In a halting, sing-song voice that grew stronger as the strange poem continued, he said

"Cross the waves past Majesties Port,

Sail on 'til the sun doth fall.

The seas will rise, the anchor drop,

To scrape against the mermaid's rock.

And when again doth fall the sea,

Look down to prove that tale of old,

A gleam of gold and silver see,

The truth, the lie, the Sirens Gold."

Jadelyn sipped her coffee, like the others entranced by Miguels' lilting voice. When he finished, she blinked, snapping them out of her reverie. "Is that it?" she asked.

Miguel nodded. "Yes."

"Well, now we have a location. Majesties Port? Easy, Port Royal." She gulped down the dregs of her coffee, standing up and pulling Tori with her. "Come on. We can figure out the rest when we get there." She nodded to Miguel. "Thanks for the help. And if I ever see you again – which I probably will if I want any more coffee – " she placed a hand on Tori's shoulder "Remember, hands off."

He saluted, grinning. Both women made to leave, but Diego pulled Jadelyn back. In rapid Spanish he asked Tori a question.

"Jade, he wants to know if he can come with us."

She looked him over. Big. Strong. She assumed he had at least some knowledge of boats, what with working at the harbour office. Besides, they needed more crew members. "Okay, sure. So long as he brings some friends. It would be helpful if they can actually sail as well."

Tori translated and Diego nodded eagerly. He scampered off, and Jadelyn turned to Tori. "Let's get back to the ship. We need to hurry if we're going to catch Ryder."

She sighed unhappily, surveying the little tavern with a sad smile. "I don't suppose I can take any coffee with me?"

Chuckling, Tori guided her out the door. "Unfortunately, no. But when this is all over, and you've saved my sister and kicked Ryders' ass into next year, I promise to bring you back and buy you the biggest mug of coffee they have."

"I'll hold you to that." Jadelyn muttered, and, giggling, they headed back to the ship.

AN: I did research, coffee did exist back then in Brazil. Thanks for reading.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Jealousy

They left Delmarola on the evening tide. Jadelyn stood at the stern, gazing wistfully at the receding city lights, hoping that one day she could come back and taste the coffee again. The sky darkened, a few crew members came out on deck to light the lanterns, but most had headed below decks for drinking and dancing and card games.

When she could no longer see the shoreline, Jadelyn turned, heading back to her cabin. Before she reached it however, she saw Tori, arm in arm with Diego, heading down the hatchway to the deck below. She frowned. She knew that Tori could easily handle herself, but something deep within her told her to follow them. she hadn't liked Diego from the start, and she didn't like him hanging onto Tori now.

Quietly descending the ladder, she stood in the shadows by a bulk head, watching as Diego lead Tori to a seat, pouring her a tankard of rum. She thanked him, watching excitedly as some of Diego's Spanish friends started up a card game that Jadelyn had never heard of.

Jadelyn's jaw tightened as she saw Diego put his arm around Tori's shoulders, and she fingered her knife hilt when he smirked as the young woman didn't throw it off. Behind the Spaniards, a sailor began playing a jig on an accordion. He wasn't a very good musician, Jadelyn winced whenever he tried to hit the high notes, but it was enough to get the rest of the crew up and dancing. Abandoning the card game, Diego stood up, gallantly offering his hand to Tori, who allowed herself to be pulled upright and into the fray.

Jadelyn had to admit, both were good dancers, despite the terrible quality of the music. She watched for a little while, half irritated by the mere presence of Diego, half fascinated by Tori. She didn't hear Cat until the red haired privateer was stood at her shoulder, saying in an annoyingly bubbly voice "Yay, dancing! I love dancing. Oooh, look at Tori and Diego, aren't they cute?"

Jadelyn shrugged, grunting non-committedly, her eyes only on Tori.

Cat ignored her, grabbing her hand and clasping it tightly. "Come and dance with me! I love this song!"

Knowing it was useless to refuse Cat anything once she had set her mind to it, Jadelyn allowed herself to be forcibly dragged into the throng of jigging sailors. She tried to not admit to herself that this was a good way to accidentally step on Diego's foot a couple of times.

Numerous times as she was whirled around by an enthusiastic Cat, Jadelyn spotted Tori, somehow managing to dance sensually to the airy jig, and for some reason she felt her cheeks grow hot. With the final few notes (which where abominably flat), everyone collapsed back into their seats, laughing and gulping rum. Jadelyn saw Andre trying to get the accordion from the sailor, who seemed just a mite drunk. A few Spaniards got up to help him. Jadelyn scowled as she saw Diego approaching, Tori still clinging to his muscled arm.

"Yes?" she asked drily, not in the mood for his happy Spanish-ness.

He said something in Spanish, a grin on his face, holding out a tankard.

"He wants to know if you're a bit hot, and would you like a drink?" Tori translated.

"Hot? What makes you think I'm hot?" she accepted the rum from Diego, taking a gulp.

"Your cheeks" Cat pointed out helpfully. "They're bright red."

Jadelyn coughed and spluttered, the rum getting caught in her throat. She didn't realise her blush had been quite so obvious. Curse Tori and her sexy dancing.

"Umm, yeah, must have worked up a bit of a sweat during the, err, dancing."

Diego leaned down and whispered something in Tori's ear that caused her to flush a deep red and gulp at her rum. Smirking, he disappeared into the crowd.

"What'd he say that's got you so flustered?" Jadelyn asked icily.

Tori was about to reply when Andre managed to wrestle the accordion from the tone-deaf sailor. The Spaniards picked up some instruments they had brought with them, and they all somehow managed to strike up a rather sensual tune, deep male voices resonating throughout the room. Once again the rest of the crew were up and dancing. Cat got whisked away by a Spaniard, and over their heads Jadelyn saw Diego stood by the rum keg, gazing over the rim of his tankard at Tori. It annoyed her that he was good at smouldering gazes, and that when she glanced over at Tori, she was eyeing him just as lustily.

She swallowed the rest of her rum, and Cat's as well to dull her senses. But it was not enough to quell the jealousy that rose within her at the sight of Diego winking at the barmaid, shaking his long hair out of his eyes and licking his lips. Standing abruptly, she turned to Tori, drunkenly holding out her hand. "Come dance with me."

For a moment, Tori just stared at her, confused. "What?"

"Come and dance with me." Spotting Cat with her own Spaniard, she lied "I like this song."

"But what about Diego? He said he'd get some more rum to cool us off."

"Your boyfriend's not cooling off. But if you want to let him tell you what to do, that's not my problem. I'll just ask someone else." She turned away, irritated that her plan hadn't worked, but Tori grabbed her hand, standing up.

"Nobody tells me what to do. And he's not my boyfriend." she said as she dragged Jadelyn into the crowd, oblivious to the happy smirk on the raven haired woman's face.

"Not your boyfriend, huh?" Jadelyn asked as she spun Tori.

"Nope" she replied, ducking underneath a drunken sailor's flailing arms. "Just friends."

"Oh really? Seemed pretty cosy for friends." She allowed the Latina to spin her, admiring how deft and deceptively strong she was. When she faced her again, she locked eyes with her. "I saw how you looked at him just then. You wanted him. And when he whispered in your ear. You liked what he said."

Grasping her waist, she swung her underneath Cat's legs (her enthusiastic Spanish friend had picked her up and was whirling her above his head). When she came back up she pressed herself flush against Jadelyn's chest, brown eyes locking heatedly with blue ones. She spun them both, grinding out from between her teeth "What he said to me had nothing to do with me and him, he actually said something about you."

Revelling in the closeness of Tori, all else forgotten, Jadelyn gripped her partners swaying hips, pulling her in and leaning forwards, murmuring over the music against the shell of Tori's ear, "Oh yeah? What'd he say about me that got you all hot and bothered, huh?"

Tori's lips just thinned, and as the music reached its climax, moved her body faster.

By the rum keg, Diego watched the two women, faces inches apart and even less space between their gyrating bodies. His friend came up behind him, shoving a tankard of rum into his hand and saying "Looks like the captain stole your girl, not that anyone's complaining" before bursting into laughter and wobbling away.

As the final few notes pierced the air, Jadelyn spun Tori one last time, before tipping her dangerously low, bodies tangled together deliciously. In the candle light, Tori breathed against her lips "He said you had been watching me dance. That you watched me with eyes so full of lust that you had worked up that sweat over me. He was surprised you didn't just shoot him and take me then."

Bodies still flush against one another, Jadelyn whispered "He was right except for one thing. I didn't need to shoot him."

AN: So, so sorry that this has taken as long as it has. Here, have a crap attempt at vaguely sexy Jori to make up for it. Sorry if it's really bad.


	18. Chapter 18

Warning: Contains very, very mild _almost_ smut.

Chapter 18 – The Morning After

Jadelyn awoke to the rhythmic slapping of waves against the hull, early morning sunlight pouring in through the window to bathe her face in its warm glow.

As she became more alert, she slowly grew aware of soft breathing that was not her own, of brown hair spilled messily across her chest, of the warm weight of Tori Vega, their legs tangled easily together, the Latina's right arm thrown carelessly over her bare stomach.

Jadelyn frowned.

How on earth had this happened?

Slowly, her head pounding, she shifted the heavily sleeping Tori, crawling out from underneath the younger woman.

Getting to her feet, she realised she didn't have as many clothes on as she had last night. Grimacing, she gazed around her cabin, wincing at the sunlight and the flashes of memory that came back to her.

She saw her waistcoat hanging from the back of her chair.

* * *

_They stumbled through the door, Jadelyn kicking it shut behind her and leaning against it, a coy smirk on her face. Tori giggled, hips swaying as she walked closer to press herself up against the other woman._

_"Jadey, I just want you to know, that I am very, very drunk."_

_She hiccupped, and giggled again._

_"What have you put in this rum?" She held up two empty tankards._

_Jadelyn straightened, flipping Tori so it was she up against the door, the empty mugs dropping to the floor._

_"Nothing Vega. You just drank a lot of it."_

_"Oh."_

_She shrugged, and started fiddling with the buttons of Jadelyn's waistcoat. Jadelyn held her breath as, one after the other, all three were popped open. Tori slowly pushed the garment down her shoulders, dropping it on the floor. _

_"Oi, that's my best waistcoat," the pirate muttered, not really caring. Tori ducked out from underneath her, picking up the coat as she went, and draping it over the back of a chair.  
"Better hang it up then," she said as she sauntered back to Jadelyn. "Don't want it getting wrinkled."_

* * *

Tori stirred slightly on the small bunk, turning so that her tanned back was exposed, the thin blanket slipping dangerously low. Jadelyn dragged her gaze away, her eyes alighting instead on Tori's shirt, the stain from the rum she had spilt on it the previous evening still evident.

* * *

_"He was right except for one thing. I didn't need to shoot him."_

_Tori just stared at her, chest heaving from the exertion of dancing. Jadelyn sighed; annoyed she would have to explain herself. _

_"What I mean is-"_

_Tori interrupted her. "I know what you meant."_

_"Oh, uhhm..."_

_Tori, despite already being pressed very close to Jadelyn, shortened the distance, their noses almost touching. Jadelyn tried to suppress the shiver that ran up her spine as Tori slowly, deliberately, leaned up and pressed her lips lightly to Jadelyn's own. _

_Not that she had ever imagined it, but Tori's mouth felt just as Jadelyn thought it would; soft, a hint of rum on her breath as she sighed, lips parting almost imperceptibly. Before she knew it Jadelyn was kissing her back, her hand tangling in the Latina's long hair, pushing her closer. _

_Tori felt as if she were falling, falling, pulling Jadelyn with her... With a bang her back smacked against the deck, she could feel the pirate captain on top of her, pulling herself up to berate the unfortunately tipsy sailor who had knocked into them._

_Tori could feel a wet patch on her shirt, looked down to see rum spreading across the white cotton.  
Jadelyn had finished yelling at the sailor who had knocked them over, the poor man was cowering in the corner trying to avoid her angry glare. _

_Tori grabbed the pirates hand and two wayward tankards of rum._

_"Let's take this somewhere less... crowded, shall we?"  
_  
She could hear sailors out on deck, Andre shouting orders.

* * *

Behind her, Tori groaned. Panicking, (and idly wondering just exactly why she was panicking,) she grabbed at her shirt, still hanging open about her shoulders, trying to button it up. Only to realise there were no buttons.

_Jadelyn gasped as Tori's lips suddenly left hers to trail hotly down her jaw to her neck, the tip of her tongue sweeping tantalisingly against her pulse point, wondering if the young woman could feel her heart hammering in her throat. _

_She hummed her approval as she felt her shirt being untucked from her leggings, her hands moving from the Latina's hips to help unbutton it, giving up when, impatiently, Tori just ripped it open, her hands moving immediately to caress the pirates breasts._

* * *

Jadelyn coughed, biting her lip involuntarily. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Tori was still asleep. And that the blanket had slipped a little lower. She tried not to stare, she really did.  
Turning to rummage in her sea chest, she pulled out a clean shirt, thankfully still with most of its buttons attached, and slipped it on, looking around for her leggings.

She sighed when she saw them on top of the bookcase.

* * *

_Trying to regain control, and through the haze of alcohol and arousal wondering why Tori was the one who actually had control in the first place, she turned them both, her hands moving to Tori's belt._

_The Latina's fingers slipped up her neck and into her dark hair, pushing their lips together once more._

_Successfully overcoming the buckle, Jadelyn dragged the belt through the loops on Tori's pants, tossing it behind her, ignoring the dull thunk as it landed on the table._

_She felt Tori's hands slip out of her hair and slide down her spine to rest easily at her hips for a moment, before pushing her own trousers down her legs._

_"Your turn," she whispered, and before she knew it Jadelyn was watching her pants fly across the room to land on the bookshelf._

_"Did you have to throw them that far?"_

_But Tori was too busy to answer, one hand palming Jadelyns right breast, the other sliding down her stomach to draw a moan from the pirate captain._

* * *

"Man overboard!"

Seething, Jadelyn jumped, grabbing her trousers and pulling them on, heading out on deck.

"What the hell? What idiot fell off the ship?"

Andre just pointed to where a man floated in the shadow of the ship. He was tied to a barrel, and there was a parrot sitting on his head, squawking soulfully to itself.

"Oi!" Jadelyn yelled to the man on the barrel. He lifted his head, blinking in the harsh sunlight bouncing off the water.

"Hello. Would you mind awfully helping me?" He asked.

"Someone throw him a line." Jadelyn sighed. Andre and Beckett quickly had the young man on deck, his parrot fluttering about in the rigging and saying rude things, as parrots are apt to doing if they spend enough time in taverns.

Beckett stood the empty barrel upright as someone fetched a rough blanket and some water for the stranger.

"Many thanks, I fear I was afloat for nearly two days." He said in between gulps of water. "My name is Robbie by the way. Robert Shapiro, but please call me Robbie."

Beckett and Andre shook his hand.

"Here's a question, _Robbie_," said Jadelyn, eyeing the man. "What were you doing tied to a barrel floating in the ocean with a parrot on your head in the first place?"

He laughed uneasily, running his hand through his curly hair.

"Well, you see, it was like this. I was travelling, you know, from place to place, doing things here and there. And I was on my way back from Brazil. Left from a port called Delmarola."

Jadelyn stiffened, but Robbie seemed not to notice.

"I booked passage aboard a ship captained by one Ryder Daniels."

This time he noticed when Jadelyn hissed angrily, scowls crossing both Beckett and Andre's faces.

"Carry on," Jadelyn growled, fingering the hilt of her cutlass.

Robbie gulped, before resuming his tale, voice slightly squeakier than before.

"They told me to stay in my quarters and only come out at mealtimes, and that they would tell me when we reached Port Royal. Alas, I did not listen to them, and when searching for the privy, I stumbled upon a young woman, in one of the cabins. Before I could say anything to her, they dragged me out on deck, tied me to that barrel, and now here I am."

Jadelyn leaned down, resting the tip of her knife blade on his nose. "This woman, what did she look like?"

"Err, umm…" he coughed, going cross-eyed as he tried to keep his gaze on the knife. "Tanned, umm, long, brown hair, bit dishevelled, quite err," he coughed again, indicating his thin chest "-full, around here."

"Jadelyn turned to Beckett and Andre. "That's Trina." She faced Robbie again, sheathing her knife. "You said you were on that barrel for nearly two days?"

He nodded fearfully.

Jadelyn straightened up, addressing her crew members. "Seems like we've gained a little on them. Perhaps we can catch them before they solve the riddle and get this whole sorry mess sorted. Cat," she gestured to the red-haired woman to come over. "Take this Shapiro fellow to a cabin, and if his parrot says anything untoward or squawks too loudly then I'll have its feathers for a duster."

"Oh, I assure you, Rex is extremely well trained." Robbie piped up anxiously.

Jadelyn just grunted, turning on her heel and marching back to her cabin. She jumped slightly when Tori almost walked into her as she came out of the door, a piece of paper in her hand.

"Oh, Jade, there you are," she muttered distractedly.

"What's that?" Jadelyn asked, not really interested, but keen to avoid a certain topic of conversation bound to come up at some point.

"The riddle that man told us in Delmarola. I wrote it down, and this morning when I woke up I solved a bit of it. I think."

Intrigued, Jadelyn took the paper from her. "Which bit?"

Tori recited part of the riddle, Jadelyn reading the lines on the paper as she spoke.

"Cross the waves past Majesties Port,

Sail on 'til the sun doth fall,

The seas will rise, the anchor drop,

To scrape against the mermaids rock."

"Majesties port we've already figured out: It's Port Royal. 'Sail on 'til the sun doth fall.' The sun sets in the west. I think it means we sail west?"

Jadelyn nodded her agreement. "West. For how long, Miss Mystery-Solver?"

"'The seas will rise' means until high tide, then we stop. The mermaids rock is the only thing I don't know. I've never heard of anything like that, not even in the tavern."

Jadelyn shrugged. "We can cross that bridge when we come to it. For now let's focus on catching Ryder before we get to Port Royal."

She made to enter the cabin, but Tori caught her arm. "There's something else I need to talk to you about too, Jade."

Jadelyn grimaced; she had been hoping it would take a while for this conversation to come up. Hopefully forever. Sighing, she resignedly held the cabin door open for the barmaid, and followed her in.

* * *

AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, my thanks to AlicexGirls for reminding me I hadn't yet finished. Enjoy this chapter and hopefully I'll have another one up soon.


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